GIFT   OF 
JJflrs.   E.W.   Darst 


SPECIAL   METHOD 
IN    PRIMARY   READING 


SPECIAL    METHOD 

IN 

PRIMARY  READING  AND  ORAL 
WORK  WITH  STORIES 


BY 


CHARLES  A.  McMURRY,  PH.D. 

DIRECTOR  OF  PRACTICE  DEPARTMENT,  NORTHERN  ILLINOIS 
STATE  NORMAL  SCHOOL,  DE  KALB,  ILLINOIS 


THE    MACMILLAN    COMPANY 

LONDON :  MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  LTD. 
1908 

All  rights  reserved 


COPYRIGHT,  1903, 
BY  THE  MACiMILLAN  COMPANY. 

Set  up  and  electrotyped  July,  1903;  reprinted 
April,  August,  1905;  January,  1907  ;  March,  1908. 


A?  33 


PREFACE 

THIS  book  attempts  the  discussion  of  two  very 
important  problems  in  primary  education.  First,  the 
oral  work  in  the  handling  of  stories,  and  second,  the 
introduction  to  the  art  of  reading  in  the  earliest 
school  work.  The  very  close  relation  between  the 
oral  work  in  stories  and  the  exercises  in  reading  in 
the  first  three  years  in  school  is  quite  fully  explained. 
The  oral  work  in  story-telling  has  gained  a  great 
importance  in  recent  years,  but  has  not  received 
much  discussion  from  writers  of  books  on  method. 

Following  this  "  Special  Method  in  Primary  Read- 
ing," a  second  volume,  called  the  "Special  Method 
in  the  Reading  of  Complete  English  Classics  in  the 
Grades  of  the  Common  School,"  completes  the  dis- 
cussion of  reading  and  literature  in  the  intermediate 
and  grammar  grades. 

Both  of  the  books  of  Special  Method  are  an  ap- 
plication of  the  ideas  discussed  in  "The  Principles 
of  General  Method"  and  "The  Method  of  the 

Recitation." 

v 

M725888 


Vi  PREFACE 

Still  other  volumes  of  Special  Method  in  Geog- 
raphy, History,  and  Natural  Science  furnish  the  out- 
lines of  the  courses  of  study  in.  these  subjects,  and 
also  a  full  discussion  of  the  value  of  the  material 
selected  and  of  the  method  of  treatment. 

At  the  close  of  each  chapter  and  at  the  end  of  the 
book  a  somewhat  complete  graded  list  of  books,  for 
the  use  of  both  pupils  and  teachers,  is  given.  The 
same  plan  is  followed  in  all  the  books  of  this  series, 
so  that  teachers  may  be  able  to  supply  themselves 
with  the  best  helps  with  as  little  trouble  as  possible. 

CHARLES  A.  McMURRY. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  I 

PACK 

THE  REASON  FOR  ORAL  WORK  IN  STORIES  i 

CHAPTER  II 
THE  BASIS  OF  SKILL  IN  ORAL  WORK  •       •       •      16 

CHAPTER  III 
FIRST  GRADE  STORIES 47 

CHAPTER  IV 
SECOND  GRADE  STORIES 75 

CHAPTER  V 
THIRD  GRADE  STORIES 103 

CHAPTER  VI 

PRIMARY   READING   THROUGH    INCIDENTAL   EXERCISES 

AND  GAMES 137 

CHAPTER  VII 
METHOD  IN  PRIMARY  READING 173 

CHAPTER  VIII 

LIST  OF  BOOKS  FOR  PRIMARY  GRADES   ....    190 

vii 


SPECIAL  METHOD  IN  PRIMARY 
READING 

CHAPTER  I 

THE  REASON  FOR  ORAL  WORK  IN  STORIES 

THE  telling  and  reading  of  stories  to  children  in 
early  years,  before  they  have  mastered  the  art  of 
reading,  is  of  such  importance  as  to  awaken  the 
serious  thought  of  parents  and  teachers.  To  older 
people  it  is  a  source  of  constant  surprise  —  the  at- 
tentive interest  which  children  bestow  upon  stories. 
Almost  any  kind  of  a  story  will  command  their  wide- 
awake thought.  But  the  tale  which  they  can  fully 
understand  and  enjoy  has  a  unique  power  to  concen- 
trate their  mental  energy.  There  is  an  undivided, 
unalloyed  absorption  of  mind  in  good  stories  which 
augurs  well  for  all  phases  of  later  effort.  To  get 
children  into  this  habit  of  undivided  mental  energy, 
of  singleness  of  purpose  in  study,  is  most  promising. 
In  primary  grades,  the  fluttering,  scatter-brained  tru- 
ancy of  thought  is  the  chronic  obstacle  to  success  in 
study. 

The  telling  or  reading  of  stories  to  children  natu- 


2  SPECIAL   METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING 

rally  begins  at  home,  before  the  little  ones  are  old 
enough  for  school.  The  mother  and  father,  the  aunts 
and  uncles,  and  any  older  person  who  delights  in 
children,  find  true  comfort  and  entertainment  in  re- 
hearsing the  famous  stories  to  children.  The  Mother 
Goose,  the  fables,  the  fairy  tales,  the  "Arabian 
Nights,"  Eugene  Field's  and  Stevenson's  poems  of 
child  life,  the  Bible  stories,  the  myths,  and  some  of 
the  old  ballads  have  untold  treasures  for  children.  If 
one  has  a  voice  for  singing  the  old  melodies,  the 
charm  of  music  intensifies  the  effect  Little  ones 
quickly  memorize  what  delights  them,  and  not  sel- 
dom, after  two  or  three  readings,  children  of  three 
and  four  years  will  be  heard  repeating  whole  poems 
or  large  parts  of  them.  The  repetition  of  the  songs 
and  stories  till  they  become  thoroughly  familiar  gives 
them  their  full  educative  effect.  They  become  a 
part  of  the  permanent  furniture  of  the  mind.  If  the 
things  which  the  children  learn  in  early  years  have 
been  well  selected  from  the  real  treasures  of  the  past 
(of  which  there  is  a  goodly  store),  the  seeds  of  true 
culture  have  been  deeply  sown  in  their  affections. 

The  opportunities  of  the  home  for  good  story- 
telling are  almost  boundless.  Parents  who  perceive 
its  worth  and  are  willing  to  take  time  for  it,  find  in 
this  early  period  greater  opportunity  to  mould  the 
lives  of  children  and  put  them  into  sympathetic  touch 
with  things  of  beauty  and  value  than  at  any  other 
time.  At  this  age  children  are  well-nigh  wholly  at 


THE  REASON  FOR  ORAL  WORK  IN  STORIES     3 

the  mercy  of  their  elders.  They  will  take  what  we 
give  them  and  take  it  at  its  full  worth  or  worthless- 
ness.  They  absorb  these  things  as  the  tender  plant 
absorbs  rain  and  sunshine. 

The  kindergarten  has  naturally  found  in  the  story 
one  of  its  chief  means  of  effectiveness.  Stories, 
songs,  and  occupations  are  its  staples.  Dealing  with 
this  same  period  of  early  childhood,  before  the  more 
taxing  work  of  the  school  begins,  it  finds  that  the 
children's  minds  move  with  that  same  freedom  and 
spontaneity  in  these  stories  with  which  their  bodies 
and  physical  energies  disport  themselves  in  games 
and  occupations. 

It  is  fortunate  for  childhood  that  we  have  such 
wholesome  and  healthful  material,  which  is  fitted 
to  give  a  child's  mental  action  a  well-rounded  com- 
pleteness. His  will,  his  sensibility,  and  his  knowing 
faculty,  all  in  one  harmonious  whole,  are  brought 
into  full  action.  In  short,  not  a  fragment  but  the 
whole  child  is  focussed  and  concentrated  upon  one 
absorbing  object  of  thought 

The  value  of  the  oral  treatment  of  stories  is  found 
in  the  greater  clearness  and  interest  with  which  they 
can  be  presented  orally.  There  is  a  keener  realism, 
a  closer  approximation  to  experimental  facts,  to  the 
situations,  the  hardships,  to  the  sorrows  and  triumphs 
of  persons.  The  feelings  and  impulses  of  the  actors 
in  the  story  are  felt  more  sharply.  The  reality  of  the 
surrounding  conditions  and  difficulties  is  presented  so 


4  SPECIAL   METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING 

that  a  child  transports  himself  by  the  power  of  sym- 
pathy and  imagination  into  the  scenes  described. 

There  is  no  way  by  which  this  result  can  be  accom- 
plished in  early  years  except  by  the  oral  presentation 
of  stories.  Until  the  children  have  learned  to  read 
and  have  acquired  sufficient  mastery  of  the  art  of 
reading  so  that  it  is  easy  and  fluent,  there  is  no  way 
by  which  they  can  get  at  good  stories  for  themselves. 
Average  children  require  about  three  years  to  acquire 
this  mastery  of  the  reading  art.  Not  many  children 
read  stories  from  books,  with  enjoyment  and  appre- 
ciation, till  they  are  nine  or  ten  years  old ;  but  from 
the  age  of  four  to  ten  they  are  capable  of  receiving 
an  infinite  amount  of  instruction  and  mental  stimulus 
from  hearing  good  stories.  In  fact,  many  of  the  best 
stories  ever  produced  in  the  history  of  the  world  can 
be  thoroughly  enjoyed  by  children  before  they  have 
learned  to  read.  This  is  true  of  Grimm's  and  Ander- 
sen's stories,  of  the  myths  of  Hiawatha  and  Norse- 
land,  and  of  the  early  Greeks,  of  the  Bible  stories, 
the  "Arabian  Nights,"  "Robin  Hood,"  besides  many 
other  stories,  poems,  ballads,  and  biographies  which 
are  among  the  best  things  in  our  literature. 

In  these  early  years  the  minds  of  children  may  be 
enriched  with  a  furnishment  of  ideas  of  much  value 
for  all  their  future  use,  a  sort  of  capital  well  invested, 
which  will  bring  rich  returns.  Minds  early  fertilized 
with  this  variety  of  thought  material  become  more 
flexible,  productive,  and  acquisitive. 


THE  REASON  FOR  ORAL  WORK  IN  STORIES     5 

For  many  years,  and  even  centuries,  it  was  sup- 
posed that  early  education  could  furnish  children  with 
little  except  the  forms  and  instruments  of  knowledge, 
the  tools  of  acquisition,  such  as  ability  to  read,  spell, 
and  write,  and  to  use  simple  numbers.  But  the  sus- 
ceptibility of  younger  children  to  the  powerful  cul- 
ture influence  of  story,  poem,  and  nature  study,  was 
overlooked. 

We  now  have  good  reason  to  believe  that  there 
is  no  period  when  the  educative  and  refining  influ- 
ences of  good  literature  in  the  form  of  poems  and 
story  can  be  made  so  effective  as  in  this  early  period 
from  four  to  ten  years.  That  period  which  has  been 
long  almost  wholly  devoted  to  the  dry  formalities  and 
mechanics  of  knowledge,  to  the  dull  and  oftentimes 
benumbing  drills  of  alphabets,  spelling,  and  arithmeti- 
cal tables,  is  found  to  be  capable  of  a  fruitful  study 
of  stories,  fables,  and  myths,  and  an  indefinite  exten- 
sion of  ideas  and  experiences  in  nature  observation. 

But  the  approach  to  these  sunny  fields  of  varied 
and  vivid  experience  is  not  through  books,  except 
as  the  teacher's  mind  has  assimilated  their  materials 
and  prepared  them  for  lively  presentation. 

The  oral  speech  through  which  the  stories  are 
given  to  children  is  completely  familiar  to  them,  so 
that  they,  unencumbered  by  the  forms  of  language, 
can  give  their  undivided  thought  to  the  story.  Oral 
speech  is,  therefore,  the  natural  channel  through 
which  stories  should  come  in  early  years.  The  book 


6  SPECIAL    METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING 

is  at  first  wholly  foreign  to  them,  and  it  takes  them 
three  years  or  more  of  greater  or  less  painful  effort 
to  get  such  easy  mastery  of  printed  forms  as  to  gain 
ready  access  to  thought  in  books.  A  book,  when 
first  put  into  the  hands  of  a  child,  is  a  complete 
obstruction  to  thought.  The  oral  story,  on  the  con- 
trary, is  a  perfectly  transparent  medium  of  thought. 
A  child  can  see  the  meaning  of  a  story  through  oral 
speech  as  one  sees  a  landscape  through  a  clear  win- 
dow-pane. If  a  child,  therefore,  up  to  the  age  of 
ten,  is  to  get  many  and  delightsome  views  into  the 
fruitful  fields  of  story-land,  this  miniature  world  of 
all  realities,  this  repository  of  race  ideas,  it  must 
be  through  oral  speech  which  he  has  already  acquired 
in  the  years  of  babyhood. 

It  is  an  interesting  blunder  of  teachers,  and  one 
that  shows  their  unreflecting  acceptance  of  tradi- 
tional customs,  to  assume  that  the  all-absorbing  prob- 
lem of  primary  instruction  is  the  acquisition  of  a  new 
book  language  (the  learning  to  read),  and  to  ignore 
that  rich  mother  tongue,  already  abundantly  famil- 
iar, as  an  avenue  of  acquisition  and  culture.  But  we 
are  now  well  convinced  that  the  ability  to  read  is  an 
instrument  of  culture,  not  culture  itself,  and  prima- 
rily the  great  object  of  education  is  to  inoculate 
the  children  with  the  ideas  of  our  civilization.  The 
forms  of  expression  are  also  of  great  value,  but  they 
are  secondary  and  incidental  as  compared  with  the 
world  of  ideas. 


THE  REASON  FOR  ORAL  WORK  IN  STORIES     f 

There  is  an  intimate  connection  between  learning 
to  read  and  the  oral  treatment  of  stories  in  primary 
schools  which  is  very  interesting  and  suggestive  to 
the  teacher.  Routine  teachers  may  think  it  a  waste 
of  time  to  stop  for  the  oral  presentation  of  stories. 
But  the  more  thoughtful  and  sympathetic  teacher 
will  think  it  better  to  stimulate  the  child's  mind  than 
to  cram  his  memory.  The  young  mind  fertilized  by 
ideas  is  quicker  to  learn  the  printed  forms  than  a 
mind  barren  of  thought.  Yet  this  proposition  needs 
to  be  seen  and  illustrated  in  many  forms. 

Children  should  doubtless  make  much  progress  in 
learning  to  read  in  the  first  year  of  school.  But 
coincident  with  these  exercises  in  primary  reading, 
and,  as  a  general  thing,  preliminary  to  them,  is  a 
lively  and  interested  acquaintance  with  the  best 
stories.  It  is  a  fine  piece  of  educative  work  to  cul- 
tivate in  children,  at  the  beginning  of  school  life,  a 
real  appreciation  and  enjoyment  of  a  few  good  stories. 
These  stories,  thus  rendered  familiar,  and  others  of 
similar  tone  and  quality,  may  serve  well  as  a  part  of 
the  reading  lessons.  It  is  hardly  possible  to  cultivate 
this  literary  taste  in  the  reading  books  alone,  un- 
relieved by  oral  work.  The  primers  and  first  readers, 
when  examined,  will  give  ample  proof  of  this  state- 
ment In  spite  of  the  utmost  effort  of  skilled 
primary  teachers  to  make  attractive  books  for  pri- 
mary  children,  our  primers  and  first  readers  show 
unmistakable  signs  of  their  formal  and  mechanical 
character.  They  are  essentially  drill  books. 


8  SPECIAL   METHOD   IN  PRIMARY   READING 

It  seems  well,  therefore,  to  have  in  primary 
schools  two  kinds  of  work  in  connection  with  story 
and  reading,  the  oral  work  in  story-telling,  reproduc- 
tion, expression,  etc.,  and  the  drill  exercises  in  learn- 
ing to  read.  The  former  will  keep  up  a  wide-awake 
interest  in  the  best  thought  materials  suitable  for 
children,  the  latter  will  gradually  acquaint  them  with 
the  necessary  forms  of  written  and  printed  language. 
Moreover,  the  interest  aroused  in  the  stories  is  con- 
stantly transferring  itself  to  the  reading  lessons  and 
giving  greater  spirit  and  vitality  even  to  the  primary 
efforts  at  learning  to  read.  In  discussing  the  method 
of  primary  reading  we  shall  have  occasion  to  men- 
tion the  varied  devices  of  games,  activities,  drawings, 
dramatic  action,  blackboard  exercises,  and  picture 
work,  by  which  an  alert  primary  teacher  puts  life 
and  motive  into  early  reading  work,  but  fully  as 
important  as  all  these  things  put  together  is  the 
growing  insight  and  appreciation  for  good  stories. 
When  a  child  makes  the  discovery,  as  Hugh  Miller 
said,  "  that  learning  to  read  is  learning  to  get  stories 
out  of  books  "  he  has  struck  the  chord  that  should 
vibrate  through  all  his  future  life.  The  real  motive 
for  reading  is  to  get  something  worth  the  effort  of 
reading.  Even  if  it  takes  longer  to  accomplish  the 
result  in  this  way,  the  result  when  accomplished  is 
in  all  respects  more  valuable.  But  it  is  probable  that 
children  will  learn  to  read  fully  as  soon  who  spend 
a  good  share  of  their  tune  in  oral  story  work. 


THE  REASON  FOR  ORAL  WORK  IN  STORIES     9 

In  discussing  the  literary  materials  used  in  the  first 
four  grades,  we  suggest  the  following  grading  of 
certain  large  groups  of  literary  matter,  and  the  rela- 
tion of  oral  work  to  the  reading  in  each  subsequent 
grade  is  clearly  marked. 

ORAL  WORK.  READING. 

ist  Grade.    Games,  Mother  Goose.  Lessons  based  on  Games,  etc. 

Fables,  Fairy  Tales.  Board  Exercises. 

Nature  Myths,  Child  Poems.      Primers,  First  Readers. 

Simple  Myths,  Stories,  etc. 

ad  Grade.    Robinson  Crusoe.  Fables,  Fairy  Tales. 

Hiawatha.  Myths  and  Poems. 

Seven  Little  Sisters.  Second  Readers. 

Hiawatha  Primer. 

3d  Grade.    Greek  and  Norse  Myths.  Robinson  Crusoe. 

Ballads  and  Legendary  Stories.   Andersen's  &  Grimm's  Tales. 
Ulysses,  Jason,  Siegfried.  Child's  Garden  of  Verses. 

Old  Testament  Stories.  Third  Readers. 

4th  Grade.  American    Pioneer    History  Greek  and  Norse  Myths. 

Stories.  Historical  Ballads. 

Early  Biographical  Stories  of  Ulysses,  Arabian  Nights. 

Europe,  as  Alfred,  Solon,  Hiawatha,  Wonder  Book. 
Arminius,  etc. 

This  close  dependence  of  reading  proper,  in  earlier 
years,  upon  the  oral  treatment  of  stories  as  a  pre- 
liminary, is  based  fundamentally  upon  the  idea  that 
suitable  and  interesting  thought  matter  is  the  true 
basis  of  progress  in  reading,  and  that  the  strengthen- 
ing of  the  taste  for  good  books  is  a  much  greater 
thing  than  the  mere  acquisition  of  the  art  of  reading. 
The  motive  with  which  children  read  or  try  to  learn 
to  read  is,  after  all,  of  the  greatest  consequence. 


IO  SPECIAL    METHOD    IN   PRIMARY   READING 

The  old  notion  that  children  must  first  learn  to 
read  and  then  find,  through  the  mastery  of  this  art, 
the  entrance  to  literature  is  exactly  reversed.  First 
awaken  a  desire  for  things  worth  reading,  and  then 
incorporate  these  and  similar  stories  into  the  regular 
reading  exercises  as  far  as  possible. 

In  accordance  with  this  plan,  children,  by  the  time 
they  are  nine  or  ten  years  old,  will  become  heartily 
acquainted  with  three  or  four  of  the  great  classes 
of  literature,  the  fables,  fairy  tales,  myths,  and  such 
world  stories  as  Crusoe,  Aladdin,  Hiawatha,  and 
Ulysses.  Moreover,  the  oral  treatment  will  bring 
these  persons  and  actions  closer  to  their  thought  and 
experience  than  the  later  reading  alone  could  do. 
In  fact,  if  children  have  reached  their  tenth  year 
without  enjoying  those  great  forms  of  literature  that 
are  appropriate  to  childhood,  there  is  small  prospect 
that  they  will  ever  acquire  a  taste  for  them.  They 
have  passed  beyond  the  age  where  a  liking  for 
such  literature  is  most  easily  and  naturally  cultivated. 
They  move  on  to  other  things.  They  have  passed 
through  one  great  stage  of  education  and  have 
emerged  with  a  meagre  and  barren  outfit. 

The  importance  of  oral  work  as  a  lively  means  of 
entrance  to  studies  is  seen  also  in  other  branches 
besides  literature. 

In  geography  and  history  the  first  year  or  two  of 
introductory  study  is  planned  for  the  best  schools  in 
the  form  of  oral  narrative  and  discussion.  Home 


THE  REASON  FOR  ORAL  WORK  IN  STORIES    II 

geography  in  the  third  or  fourth  year,  and  history 
stories  in  the  fourth  and  fifth  years  of  school,  are 
best  presented  without  a  text  book  by  the  teacher. 
Although  the  children  have  already  overcome,  to 
some  extent,  the  difficulty  of  reading,  so  great  is  the 
power  of  oral  presentation  and  discussion  to  vivify 
and  realize  geographical  and  historical  scenes  that 
the  book  is  discarded  at  first  for  the  oral  treat- 
ment. 

In  natural  science  also,  from  the  first  year  on  the 
teacher  must  employ  an  oral  method  of  treatment. 
The  use  of  books  is  not  only  impossible,  but  even 
after  the  children  have  learned  to  read,  it  would 
defeat  the  main  purpose  of  instruction  to  make  books 
the  chief  means  of  study.  The  ability  to  observe 
and  discern  things,  to  use  their  own  senses  in  dis- 
criminating and  comparing  objects,  in  experiments 
and  investigations,  is  the  fundamental  purpose. 

In  language  lessons,  again,  it  is  much  better  to  use 
a  book  only  as  a  guide  and  to  handle  the  lessons 
orally,  collecting  examples  and  stories  from  other 
studies  as  the  basis  for  language  discussions. 

It  is  apparent  from  this  brief  survey  that  an  oral 
method  is  appropriate  to  the  early  treatment  of  all 
the  common  school  studies,  that  it  gives  greater 
vivacity,  intensity,  simplicity,  and  clearness  to  all 
such  introductory  studies. 

The  importance  of  story-telling  and  the  initiation 
of  children  into  the  delightful  fields  of  literature 


12  SPECIAL   METHOD    IN   PRIMARY   READING 

through  the  teacher  rather  than  through  the  book 
are  found  to  harmonize  with  a  mode  of  treatment 
common  to  all  the  studies  in  early  years. 

In  this  connection  it  is  interesting  to  observe  that 
the  early  literature  of  the  European  nations  was 
developed  and  communicated  to  the  people  by  word 
of  mouth.  The  Homeric  songs  were  chanted  or 
sung  at  the  courts  of  princes.  At  Athens,  in  her 
palmy  days,  the  great  dramatists  and  poets  either 
recited  their  productions  to  the  people  or  had  them 
presented  to  thousands  of  citizens  in  the  open-air 
theatres.  Even  historians  like  Thucidides  read  or 
recited  their  great  histories  before  the  assembled 
people.  In  the  early  history  of  England,  Scotland, 
and  other  countries,  the  minstrels  sang  their  ballads 
and  epic  poems  in  the  baronial  halls  and  thus  de- 
veloped the  early  forms  of  [music  and  poetry. 
Shakespeare  wrote  his  dramas  for  the  theatre,  and 
he  seems  to  have  paid  no  attention  at  all  to  their 
appearance  in  book  form,  never  revising  them  or 
putting  them  into  shape  for  the  press. 

This  practice  of  all  the  early  races  of  putting  their 
great  literature  before  the  people  by  song,  dramatic 
action,  and  word  of  mouth  is  very  suggestive  to  the 
teacher.  The  power  and  effectiveness  of  this  mode 
of  presentation,  not  only  in  early  times  but  even  in 
the  highly  civilized  cities  of  London  and  Athens,  is 
unmistakable  proof  of  the  educative  value  of  such 
modes  of  teaching.  This  is  only  another  indication 


THE   REASON  FOR  ORAL  WORK  IN   STORIES         13 

of  the  kinship  of  child  life  with  race  life,  which  has 
been  emphasized  by  many  great  thinkers. 

The  oral  method  offers  a  better  avenue  for  all  vig- 
orous modes  of  expression  than  the  reading  book. 
It  can  be  observed  that  the  general  tendency  of  the 
book  is  toward  a  formal,  expressionless  style  in 
young  readers.  Go  into  a  class  where  the  teacher  is 
handling  a  story  orally  and  you  will  see  her  falling 
naturally  into  all  forms  of  vivid  narrative  and  pres- 
entation, gesture,  facial  expression,  versatile  intona- 
tion, blackboard  sketching  and  picture  work,  the 
impersonation  of  characters  in  dialogue,  dramatic 
action,  and  general  liveliness  of  manner.  The  chil- 
dren naturally  take  up  these  same  activities  and  modes 
of  uttering  themselves.  Even  without  the  suggestion 
of  teachers,  little  children  express  themselves  in  such 
actions,  attitudes,  and  impersonations.  This  may  be 
often  observed  in  little  boys  and  girls  of  kindergarten 
age,  when  telling  their  experiences  to  older  persons, 
or  when  playing  among  themselves.  The  freedom, 
activity,  and  vivacity  of  children  is,  indeed,  in  strong 
contrast  to  the  apathetic,  expressionless,  monotonous 
style  of  many  grown  people,  including  teachers. 

But  the  oral  treatment  of  stories  has  a  tendency  to 
work  out  into  modes  of  activity  even  more  effective 
than  those  just  described. 

In  recent  years,  since  so  much  oral  work  has  been 
done  in  elementary  schools,  children  have  been  en- 
couraged also  to  express  themselves  freely  in  black- 


14  SPECIAL   METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING 

board  drawings  and  in  pencil  work  at  their  desks  by 
way  of  illustrating  the  stories  told.  Moreover,  in 
paper  cutting,  to  represent  persons  and  scenes,  in 
clay  modelling,  to  mould  objects  presented,  and 
in  constructive  and  building  efforts,  in  making  forts, 
tents,  houses,  tools,  dress,  and  in  showing  up  modes 
of  life,  the  children  have  found  free  scope  for  their 
physical  and  mental  activities.  These  have  not  only 
led  to  greater  clearness  and  vividness  in  their  men- 
tal conceptions,  but  have  opened  out  new  fields  of  self- 
activity  and  inventiveness. 

So  long  as  work  in  reading  and  literature  was  con- 
fined to  the  book  exercises,  nearly  all  these  modes  of 
expression  were  little  employed  and  even  tabooed. 

Finally,  the  free  use  of  oral  narrative  in  the  litera- 
ture of  early  years,  in  story-telling  and  its  attendant 
modes  of  expression,  opens  up  to  primary  teachers 
a  rare  opportunity  of  becoming  genuine  educators. 
There  was  a  time,  and  it  still  continues  with  many 
primary  teachers,  when  teaching  children  to  read 
was  a  matter  of  pure  routine,  of  formal  verbal  drills 
and  repetitions,  as  tiresome  to  the  teacher,  if  possible, 
as  to  the  little  ones.  But  now  that  literature,  with  its 
treasures  of  thought  and  feeling,  of  culture  and  re- 
finement, has  become  the  staple  of  the  primary 
school,  teachers  have  a  wide  and  rich  field  of  inspir- 
ing study.  The  mastery  and  use  of  much  of  the 
preferred  literature  which  has  dropped  down  to  us 
out  of  the  past  is  the  peculiar  function  of  the  pri- 


THE   REASON   FOR   ORAL   WORK  IN   STORIES         1 5 

mary  teacher.  Contact  with  great  minds,  like  those 
of  Kingsley,  Ruskin,  Andersen,  the  Grimm  brothers, 
Stevenson,  Dickens,  Hawthorne,  De  Foe,  Browning, 
JEsop,  Homer,  and  the  unknown  authors  of  many  of 
the  best  ballads,  epics,  and  stories,  is  enough  to  give 
the  primary  teacher  a  sense  of  the  dignity  of  her 
work.  On  the  other  hand,  the  opportunity  to  give  to 
children  the  free  and  versatile  development  of  their 
active  powers  is  an  equal  encouragement. 

Teachers  who  have  taken  up  with  zeal  this  great 
problem  of  introducing  children  to  their  full  birth- 
right, the  choice  literature  of  the  world  suited  to  their 
years,  and  of  linking  this  story  work  with  primary 
reading  so  as  to  give  it  vitality,  —  such  teachers  have 
found  school  life  assuming  new  and  unwonted 
charms;  the  great  problems  of  the  educator  have 
become  theirs;  the  broadened  opportunity  for  the 
acquisition  of  varied  skill  and  professional  efficiency 
has  given  a  strong  ambitious  tone  to  their  work. 


CHAPTER  II 
THE  BASIS  OF  SKILL  IN  ORAL  WORK 

ACCEPTING  the  statement  that  skill  in  oral  presen- 
tation of  a  story  is  a  prime  demand  in  early  educa- 
tion, the  important  question  for  teachers  is  how  to 
cultivate  their  resources  in  this  phase  of  teaching, 
how  to  become  good  story-tellers. 

It  may  be  remarked  that,  for  the  great  majority  of 
people,  story-telling  is  not  a  gift  but  an  acquisition. 
There  are,  of  course,  occasional  geniuses,  but  they 
may  be  left  out  of  consideration.  They  are  not 
often  found  in  the  schoolroom  any  more  than  in 
other  walks  of  life.  What  we  need  is  a  practical, 
sensible  development  of  a  power  which  we  all  possess 
in  varying  degrees.  Nor  is  it  the  fluent,  volatile, 
verbose  talker  who  makes  a  good  oral  teacher,  but 
rather  one  who  can  see  and  think  clearly :  one  who 
knows  how  to  combine  his  ideas  and  experiences  into 
clear  and  connected  series  of  thought. 

We  may  proceed,  therefore,  to  a  discussion  of  the 
needs  and  resources  of  a  good  story-teller. 

i .  Without  much  precaution  it  may  be  stated  that 
he  should  have  a  rich  experience  in  all  the  essential 
realities  of  human  life.  This  covers  a  large  field  of 

16 


THE  BASIS   OF   SKILL   IN  ORAL  WORK  17 

common  things  and  refers  rather  to  contact  with  life 
than  to  mere  book  knowledge.  Yet  it  is  the  depth, 
heartiness,  and  variety  of  knowledge  rather  than 
the  source  from  which  it  springs  that  concerns  us. 
Books  often  give  us  just  this  deep  penetrating  ex- 
perience, as  soon  as  we  learn  how  to  select  and 
use  them.  We  need  to  know  human  life  directly 
and  in  all  sorts  of  acts,  habits,  feelings,  motives, 
and  conditions,  —  something  as  Shakespeare  knew  it, 
only  within  the  compass  of  our  narrower  possibili- 
ties. Likewise  the  physical  world  with  its  visible 
and  invisible  forces  and  objects  besetting  us  on  every 
side.  These  things  must  impress  themselves  upon 
us  vividly  in  detail  as  well  as  in  the  bulk.  The  hand 
that  has  been  calloused  by  skill-producing  labor,  the 
back  that  aches  with  burdens  bravely  borne,  the 
brain  that  has  sweat  with  strong  effort,  are  expres- 
sions of  this  kind  of  knowledge  of  the  world.  Clear- 
grained  perceptions  are  acquired  from  many  sources : 
from  travel,  labor,  books,  reflection,  sickness,  observa- 
tion. I  go  to-day  into  a  small  shop  where  heavy  oak 
beer-kegs  are  made,  and  watch  the  man  working  this 
refractory  material  into  water-tight  kegs  that  will 
stand  hard  usage  at  the  hands  of  hard  drinkers  for 
twenty  years.  If  my  mind  has  been  at  work  as  I 
watch  this  man  for  an  hour,  with  his  heavy  rough 
staves  made  by  hand,  his  tools  and  machines,  his 
skill  and  strong  muscular  action,  the  amount  and 
profit  of  his  labor,  that  man's  work  has  gone  deep 


1 8  SPECIAL   METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING 

into  my  whole  being.  I  can  almost  live  his  life  in 
an  hour's  time,  and  feel  its  contact  with  the  acute 
problems  of  our  modern  industrial  life.  That  is  a 
kind  of  knowledge  and  experience  worth  fully  as 
much  as  a  sermon  in  Trinity  Church  or  a  University 
lecture. 

The  teacher  needs  a  great  store  of  these  concrete 
facts  and  illustrations.  Without  them  he  is  a  car- 
penter without  tools  or  boards.  He  needs  to  know 
industries,  occupations,  good  novels,  typical  life 
scenes,  sunsets,  sorrows,  joys,  inventions,  poets, 
farmers  —  all  such  common,  tangible  things.  Even 
from  fools  and  blackguards  he  can  get  experiences 
that  will  last  him  a  lifetime  if  they  only  strike  in  and 
do  not  flare  off  into  nothingness. 

Social  experience  in  all  sorts  of  human  natures, 
disposition,  and  environing  circumstance  is  immedi- 
ately valuable  to  the  teacher. 

Close  acquaintance  with  children,  with  their  early 
feelings  and  experiences,  with  their  timidity  or  bold- 
ness, with  their  whims  or  conceits,  their  dislikes  and 
preferences,  their  enthusiasms  and  interests,  with  their 
peculiar  home  and  neighborhood  experiences  and 
surroundings,  with  their  games  and  entertainments, 
with  the  books  and  papers  they  read,  with  their  dolls 
and  playthings,  their  vacations  and  outings,  with 
their  pets  and  playhouses,  with  their  tools  and 
mechanical  contrivances  —  all  these  and  other  like 
realities  of  child  life  put  the  teacher  on  a  footing 


THE   BASIS   OF   SKILL   IN   ORAL   WORK  1 9 

of  possible  appreciation  and  sympathy  with  children. 
These  are  the  materials  and  facts  which  a  good 
teacher  knows  how  to  work  up  in  oral  recitations. 

Of  course  the  kindly,  sympathetic  social  mood 
which  is  not  fretted  by  others'  frailties  and  perversi- 
ties, but,  like  Irving  or  Addison,  exhibits  a  liberal 
charity  or  humorous  affection  for  all  things  human,  is 
a  fortunate  possession  or  acquisition  for  the  teacher. 

2.  It  may  be  said  also,  without  fear  of  violent  con- 
tradiction, that  a  teacher  needs  to  be  a  master  of  the 
story  he  is  about  to  tell.  It  may  be  well  to  spread 
out  to  view  the  important  things  necessary  to  such  a 
mastery.  The  reading  over  of  the  story  till  its  facts 
and  episodes  have  become  familiar  and  can  be  repro- 
duced in  easy  narrative  is  at  least  a  minimum  re- 
quirement. Even  this  moderate  demand  is  much 
more  serious  than  the  old  text-book  routine  in  history 
or  reading,  where  the  teacher,  with  one  eye  on  the 
book,  the  other  on  the  class,  and  his  finger  at  the 
place,  managed  to  get  the  questions  before  the  class 
in  a  fixed  order. 

Let  us  look  a  little  beneath  the  surface  of  the 
story.  What  is  its  central  idea,  the  author's  aim  or 
motive  in  producing  it  ?  Not  a  little  effort  and  reflec- 
tion may  be  necessary  to  get  at  the  bottom  of  this 
question.  Some  of  the  most  famous  stories,  like  "  Alad- 
din," "Gulliver's  Travels,"  and  the  "City  Musicians," 
may  be  so  wild  and  wayward  as  to  elude  or  blunt  the 
point  of  this  question.  The  story  may  have  a  hard 


2O  SPECIAL   METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING 

shell,  but  the  sharp  teeth  of  reflection  will  get  at  the 
sweet  kernel  within,  else  the  story  is  not  worth  while. 
In  some  of  the  stories,  like  "  Baucis  and  Philemon," 
"The  Great  Stone  Face,"  "The  Pied  Piper  of  Hame- 
lin,"  "The  Discontented  Pine  Tree,"  and  "Hiawa- 
tha's Fasting,"  the  main  truth  is  easily  reflected 
from  the  story  and  caught  up  even  by  the  children. 

This  need  for  getting  at  the  heart  of  the  story  is 
clearly  seen  in  all  the  subsequent  work.  It  is  the 
exercise  of  such  a  critical  judgment  which  qualifies 
the  teacher  to  discriminate  between  good  and  poor 
stories.  In  the  treatment  of  the  story  the  essential 
topics  are  laid  out  upon  the  basis  of  this  controlling 
idea  or  motive.  The  leading  aims  and  carefully 
worded  questions  point  toward  this  central  truth. 
The  side  lights  and  attendant  episodes  are  arranged 
with  reference  to  it  like  the  scenes  in  a  drama.  The 
effort  to  get  at  the  central  truth  and  the  related  ideas 
is  a  sifting-out  process,  a  mode  of  assimilating  and 
mastering  the  story  more  thorough-going  than  the 
mere  memorizing  of  the  facts  and  words  for  the  pur- 
pose of  narration.  The  thought-getting  self-activity 
and  common-sense  logic  which  are  involved  in  this 
mode  of  assimilating  a  story  are  good  for  both  pupils 
and  teacher. 

The  mastery  of  a  story  needed  by  an  oral  teacher 
implies  abundance  of  resource  in  illustrative  device 
and  explanation.  When  children  fail  to  grasp  an 
idea,  it  is  necessary  to  fall  back  upon  some  familiar 


%        THE  BASIS  OF   SKILL   IN  ORAL   WORK  21 

object  or  experience  not  mentioned  in  the  book. 
Emergencies  arise  which  tax  the  teacher's  ingenuity 
to  the  utmost.  Even  the  children  will  raise  queries 
that  baffle  his  wit.  In  preparing  a  story  for  the 
classroom  it  is  necessary  to  see  it  from  many  sides, 
to  foresee  these  problems  and  difficulties.  Often- 
times the  collateral  knowledge  derived  from  history 
or  geography  or  from  similar  episodes  in  other  stories 
will  suggest  the  solution. 

It  is  a  favorite  maxim  of  college  teachers  and  of 
those  who  deal  mostly  with  adults  or  older  pupils, 
that  if  a  person  knows  a  thing  he  can  teach  it. 
Leaving  out  of  account  the  numerous  cases  of  those 
who  are  well  posted  in  their  subjects,  but  cannot 
teach,  it  is  well  to  note  the  scope,  variety,  and  thor- 
oughness of  knowledge  necessary  to  a  good  teacher 
to  handle  it  skilfully  with  younger  children.  Besides 
the  thorough  knowledge  of  the  subject  which  scholars 
have  demanded,  it  requires  an  equally  clear  knowl- 
edge of  the  mental  resources  of  children,  the  lan- 
guage which  they  can  understand,  the  things  which 
attract  their  interest  and  attention,  and  the  ways  of 
holding  the  attention  of  a  group  of  children  of  differ- 
ent capacities,  temper,  and  disposition.  Any  dog- 
matic professor  who  thinks  he  can  teach  the  story  of 
"  Cinderella  "  or  Andersen's  "  Five  Peas  in  the  Pod," 
because  he  has  a  full  knowledge  of  the  facts  of  the 
story,  should  make  trial  of  his  skill  upon  a  class  of 
twenty  children  in  the  first  grade.  We  suggest,  how- 


22  SPECIAL   METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING 

ever,  that  he  do  it  quietly,  without  inviting  in  his 
friends  to  witness  his  triumph. 

No,  the  mastery  of  the  subject  needed  for  an  effec- 
tive handling  of  it  in  oral  work  is  different  and  is 
greater  than  they  have  yet  dreamed  of  who  think 
that  mere  objective  knowledge  is  all  that  is  needed 
by  a  teacher.  The  application  of  knowledge  to  life 
is  generally  difficult,  more  taxing  by  far  than  the 
mere  acquisition  of  facts  and  principles.  But  the 
use  of  one's  knowledge  in  the  work  of  instructing 
young  children,  in  getting  them  to  acquire  and  assim- 
ilate it,  is  perhaps  the  most  difficult  of  all  forms  of 
the  application  of  knowledge.  It  is  difficult  because 
it  is  so  complex.  To  think  clearly  and  accurately  on 
some  topic  for  one's  single  self  is  not  easy,  but 
to  get  twenty  children  of  varying  capacities  and 
weaknesses,  with  their  stumbling,  acquisitive,  flaring 
minds,  to  keep  step  along  one  clear  line  of  thought 
is  a  piece  of  daring  enterprise. 

The  mastery  of  the  story,  therefore,  for  successful 
oral  work,  must  be  detailed,  comprehensive,  many- 
sided,  and  adapted  to  the  fluttering  thoughts  of  child- 
hood. 

3.  The  chief  instrument  through  which  the  teacher 
communicates  the  story  is  oral  speech,  and  this  he 
needs  to  wield  with  discriminating  skill  and  power. 
Preachers  and  lecturers,  when  called  upon  to  talk  to 
children,  nearly  always  talk  over  their  heads,  using 
language  not  appropriate  and  comprehensible  to 


THE   BASIS   OF   SKILL   IN   ORAL   WORK  23 

children.  Those  accustomed  to  deal  with  little  folks 
are  quickly  sensitive  to  this  amateur  awkwardness. 
Young  teachers  just  out  of  the  higher  schools  make 
the  same  blunder.  They  are  also  inclined  to  think 
that  fluency  and  verbosity  are  a  sign  of  power.  But 
such  false  tinsel  makes  no  impression  upon  children 
except  confusion  of  thought.  Children  require 
simple,  direct  words,  clearly  defined  in  thought  and 
grounded  upon  common  experience  and  conviction. 
Facts  and  realities  should  stand  behind  the  words  of 
a  teacher.  What  he  seeks  to  marshal  before  chil- 
dren is  people  and  things.  Words  should  serve  as 
photographs  of  objects;  instantaneous  views  of  expe- 
riences. In  some  social  and  diplomatic  circles  words 
are  said  to  conceal  thought,  but  this  kind  of  verbal 
diplomacy  has  no  place  in  schools. 

It  is  an  interesting  question  how  far  the  language 
and  style  of  the  authors  should  be  preserved  by  the 
narrator.  It  would  be  an  error  to  forbid  the  exact 
use  of  the  author's  words  and  an  equal  error  to 
require  it.  It  seems  reasonable  to  say  that  the 
teacher  should  become  absorbed  in  the  author's  style 
and  mode  of  presenting  the  story.  This  will  lead  to 
a  close  approximation  to  the  author's  words,  without 
any  slavish  imitation.  In  the  midst  of  oral  presenta- 
tion and  discussion  it  would  be  impossible  to  hold 
strictly  to  the  original.  The  teacher's  own  language 
and  conception  of  the  story  will  press  in  to  simplify 
and  clarify  the  meaning.  No  one  holds  strictly  to  a 


24  SPECIAL   METHOD   IN   PRIMARY  READING 

literary  style  in  telling  a  story.  Conversational  ideas 
and  original  momentary  impulses  of  thought  demand 
their  own  forms  of  utterance.  And  yet  it  is  well  to 
appropriate  the  style  and  expression  of  the  writer  so 
as  to  accustom  the  children  to  the  best  forms.  A 
few  very  apt  and  forcible  sentences  will  be  found  in 
any  good  author  which  the  teacher  will  naturally 
employ. 

But  the  teacher  must  have  freedom.  When  he 
has  once  thoroughly  appropriated  the  story  he  must 
give  vent  to  his  own  spontaneity  and  power.  Later, 
when  the  children  come  to  read  these  stories,  they 
will  enjoy  them  in  their  full  literary  form. 

4.  The  power  of  clear  and  interesting  presentation 
of  a  story  is  one  of  the  chief  professional  acquisitions 
of  a  good  primary  teacher.  It  involves  many  things 
besides  language,  including  liveliness  of  manner, 
gesture,  facial  expression,  action,  dramatic  imperso- 
nation, skill  in  blackboard  illustration,  good  humor 
and  tact  in  working  with  children,  a  strong  imagina- 
tion, and  a  real  appreciation  for  the  literature  adapted 
to  children. 

Perhaps  the  fundamental  need  is  simplicity  and 
clearness  of  thought  and  language  combined  with  a 
pleasing  and  attractive  manner.  Vague  and  incom- 
prehensible thoughts  and  ideas  are  all  out  of  place. 
The  teacher  should  be  strict  with  himself  in  this 
matter,  and  while  reading  and  mastering  the  story, 
should  use  compulsion  upon  himself  to  arrive  at  an 


THE   BASIS  OF   SKILL   IN   ORAL   WORK  25 

unmistakable  clearness  of  thought.  The  objects, 
buildings,  palaces,  woods,  caves,  animals,  persons, 
and  places  should  be  sharply  imaged  by  the  imagina- 
tion ;  the  feelings  and  passions  of  the  actors  should 
be  keenly  realized.  Often  a  vague  and  uncertain 
conception  needs  to  be  scanned,  the  passage  reread, 
and  the  notion  framed  into  clearness.  In  describing 
the  palace  of  the  sleeping  beauty,  begirt  with  woods, 
the  sentinels  standing  statuelike  at  the  portal,  the 
lords  and  ladies  at  their  employments,  the  teacher 
should  think  out  the  entrance  way,  hall,  rooms,  and 
persons  of  the  palace  so  clearly  that  his  thought  and 
language  will  not  stumble  over  uncertainties.  Trans- 
parent clearness  and  directness  of  thought  are  the 
result  of  effort  and  circumspection.  They  are  well 
worth  the  pains  required  to  gain  them.  A  teacher 
who  thinks  clearly  will  generate  clear  habits  of 
thought  in  children. 

The  power  of  interesting  narrative  and  description 
is  not  easily  explained.  It  is  a  thing  not  readily 
analyzed  into  its  elements.  Perhaps  the  best  way  to 
find  out  what  it  is  may  be  discovered  by  reading  the 
great  story-tellers,  such  as  Macaulay,  Irving,  Kings- 
ley,  De  Foe,  Hawthorne,  Homer,  Plutarch,  Scott, 
and  Dickens.  Novelists  like  George  Eliot,  Vic- 
tor Hugo,  Cooper,  Scott,  and  Dickens,  possess 
this  secret  also,  and  even  some  of  the  historians, 
as  Herodotus,  Fiske,  Green,  Parkman,  Motley,  and 
others.  It  is  not  so  important  that  a  teacher  should 


26  SPECIAL    METHOD   IN   PRIMARY  READING 

give  a  cold  analysis  of  their  qualities  as  that  he 
should  fall  insensibly  into  the  vivid  and  realistic  style 
of  the  best  story-tellers.  One  who  has  read  Pyle's 
Robin  Hood  stories  until  they  are  familiar  will,  to 
a  considerable  extent,  appropriate  his  fertile  and 
happy  Old-English  style,  the  sturdy  English  spirit  of 
bold  Robin,  his  playful  humor,  and  his  apt  utterance 
of  homely  truths. 

There  are  certain  qualities  that  stand  out  prom- 
inently in  the  good  story-tellers.  They  are  simple 
and  concrete  in  their  descriptions,  they  deal  very 
little  in  general,  vague  statements  or  abstractions, 
they  hold  closely  to  the  persons  of  the  story  in  the 
midst  of  interesting  surroundings,  they  are  profuse 
in  the  use  of  distinct  figures  of  speech,  appealing  to 
the  fancy  or  imagination.  They  often  have  a  humor- 
ous vein  which  gives  infinite  enjoyment  and  spreads 
a  happy  charity  throughout  the  world. 

The  art  of  graphic  illustration  on  the  blackboard 
is  in  almost  constant  demand  in  oral  work.  Even 
rude  and  untechnical  sketches  by  teachers  who  have 
no  acquired  skill  in  artistic  drawing  are  of  the  great- 
est value  in  giving  a  quick  and  accurate  perception 
of  places,  buildings,  persons,  and  surrounding  condi- 
tions of  a  story  or  action.  The  map  of  Crusoe's 
island,  the  drawings  to  represent  his  tent,  cave,  boat, 
country  residence,  fortifications,  dress,  utensils,  and 
battles  are  natural  and  simple  modes  of  realizing 
clearly  his  labors  and  adventures.  They  save  much 


THE   BASIS   OF   SKILL   IN   ORAL  WORK  2? 

verbal  description  and  circumlocution.  The  teacher 
needs  to  acquire  absolute  boldness  and  freedom  in 
using  such  illustrative  devices.  The  children  will, 
of  course,  catch  this  spirit,  as  they  are  by  nature 
inclined  to  use  drawing  as  a  mode  of  expression. 

A  similar  freedom  in  the  teacher  is  necessary  in 
the  use  of  bodily  action,  gesture,  and  facial  expression 
in  story-telling.  The  teacher  needs  to  become  nat- 
ural, childlike,  and  mobile  in  these  things ;  for  chil- 
dren are  naturally  much  given  to  such  demonstrations 
in  the  expression  of  their  thought.  Little  girls  of 
three  and  four  years  in  the  home,  when  free  from 
self-consciousness,  are  marvellously  and  delightfully 
expressive  by  means  of  eyes,  gestures,  hands,  and 
arms  and  whole  bodily  attitudes.  Why  should  not 
this  naive  expressiveness  be  gently  fostered  in  the 
school  ?  Indeed  it  is,  and  in  many  schools  the  little 
ones  are  as  happy  and  whole-souled  and  spontaneous 
in  their  modes  of  expression  as  we  have  suggested. 

Dramatization,  if  cultivated,  extends  a  teacher's 
gamut  of  expressiveness.  Our  inability  or  slowness 
to  respond  to  this  suggestion  is  a  sign  of  a  certain  nar- 
rowness or  cramp  in  our  culture  and  training.  In  Nor- 
mal schools  where  young  teachers  are  trained  in  the  art 
of  reading,  the  dramatic  instinct  should  be  strongly 
developed.  The  power  to  other  one's  self  in  dra- 
matic action,  to  assume  and  impersonate  a  variety  of 
characters,  is  a  real  expression  and  enlargement  of 
the  personality.  It  demands  sympathy  and  feeling  as 


28  SPECIAL   METHOD   IN   PRIMARY  READING 

well  as  intellectual  insight.  The  study  and  reading 
of  the  great  dramatists,  the  seeing  of  good  plays, 
amateur  efforts  in  this  direction,  the  frequent  oral 
reading  of  Shakespeare,  Dickens,  and  other  dram- 
atists and  novelists  will  cultivate  and  enlarge  the 
teacher's  power  in  this  worthy  and  wholesome  art. 

The  use  of  good  pictures  is  also  an  important 
means  of  adding  to  the  beauty  and  clearness  of 
stories.  The  pictures  of  Indian  life  in  "  Hiawatha,"  the 
illustrated  editions  of  "  Robinson  Crusoe,"  the  copies 
of  ancient  works  of  art  in  some  editions  of  the  Greek 
myths,  Howard  Pyle's  illustrated  "  Robin  Hood,"  and 
other  books  of  this  character  add  greatly  to  the  vivid- 
ness of  ideas.  Such  pictures  should  be  handled  with 
care,  not  distributed  promiscuously  among  the  chil- 
dren while  the  lesson  is  going  on.  The  teacher  needs 
to  study  a  picture,  and  discuss  it  intelligently  with  the 
children,  asking  questions  which  bring  out  its  repre- 
sentative qualities. 

It  is  evident  the  skilful  oral  presentation  of  a  story 
calls  out  no  small  degree  of  clear  knowledge,  force 
of  language,  illustrative  device,  dramatic  instinct,  and 
a  freedom  and  versatility  of  action  both  mental  and 
physical. 

5.  A  clear  outline  of  leading  points  in  a  story  is  a 
source  of  strength  to  the  teacher  and  the  basis  later 
of  good  reproductive  work  by  the  children.  The 
short  stories  in  the  first  grade  hardly  need  a  formal 
outline,  and  even  in  second  grade  the  sequence  of 


THE  BASIS   OF   SKILL  IN  ORAL   WORK  29 

ideas  in  a  story  is  often  so  simple  and  easy  that  out- 
lines of  leading  topics  may  not  be  needed.  But  in 
third  and  fourth  grade  it  is  well  in  the  preliminary 
study  and  mastery  of  a  story  to  divide  it  up  into 
clearly  marked  segments,  with  a  distinctive  title  for 
each  division.  It  is  difficult  to  get  teachers  to  do  this 
kind  of  close  logical  work,  and  still  more  difficult  to 
have  them  remember  it  in  the  midst  of  oral  presenta- 
tion and  discussion.  If  the  main  points  of  the  story 
as  thus  outlined  are  placed  upon  the  blackboard  as 
the  narrative  advances,  it  keeps  in  mind  a  clear  sur- 
vey of  the  whole  and  serves  as  the  best  basis  for  the 
children's  reproduction  of  the  story.  It  compels 
both  teacher  and  pupils  to  keep  to  a  close  logical 
connection  of  ideas  and  a  sifting  out  of  the  story  to 
get  at  the  main  points.  Without  these  well-con- 
structed outlines  the  memory  of  the  story  is  apt  to 
fall  into  uncertainty  and  confusion,  and  the  children's 
reproduction  becomes  fragmentary  and  disorderly. 
Experience  shows  that  teachers  are  prone  to  be  loose 
and  careless  in  bringing  their  stories  into  such  a  well- 
ordered  series  of  distinct  topics.  It  is  really  a  sign 
of  a  thoughtful,  logical,  and  judicious  mastery  of  a 
subject  to  have  thrown  it  thus  into  its  prominent 
points  of  narration.  Oral  work  often  fails  of  effec- 
tiveness and  thoroughness,  because  of  these  careless 
habits  of  teachers.  Such  an  outline,  when  put  into 
the  children's  regular  note-books,  serves  as  the  best 
basis  for  later  surveys  and  reviews. 


3O  SPECIAL   METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING 

6.  The  oral  narration  and  presentation  of  stories 
has  a  curious  way  of  being  turned  into  development 
lessons,  in  which  the  teacher  deals  in  questions  and 
problematic  situations  and  the  children  work  out 
many  of  the  facts  and  incidents  of  the  story  by  a 
series  of  guesses  and  inferences.  These  are  well 
known  as  development  lessons,  and  they  are  capable 
of  exhibiting  the  highest  forms  of  excellence  in  teach- 
ing or  the  most  drivelling  waste  of  time.  The  subject 
is  a  hard  one  to  handle,  but  it  needs  a  clear  and 
simple  elucidation  as  much  as  any  problem  in  the 
teaching  profession.  Generally  speaking  it  is  better 
for  young  teachers  not  to  launch  out  recklessly  upon 
the  full  tide  of  development  instruction.  It  is  better 
to  learn  the  handling  of  the  craft  on  quieter  waters. 
Development  work  needs  to  be  well  charted.  The 
varying  winds  and  currents,  storms  and  calms,  need 
to  be  studied  and  experienced  before  one  may  become 
a  good  ship's  master.  Let  young  teachers  first 
acquire  power  in  clear,  simple,  direct  narration  and 
description,  using  apt  and  forcible  language  and 
holding  to  a  clear-cut  line  of  thought.  This  is  no 
slight  task,  and  when  once  mastered  and  fixed  in 
habit  becomes  the  foundation  of  a  wider  freedom  and 
skill  in  development  exercises.  The  works  of  the 
great  story-tellers  furnish  excellent  models  of  this 
sort  of  skill,  and  teachers  may  follow  closely  in  the 
lines  struck  out  by  Scott  or  Hawthorne  in  narrating 
a  story. 


THE   BASIS   OF   SKILL   IN   ORAL    WORK  31 

A  book  story  cannot  do  otherwise  than  simply 
narrate;  it  cannot  develop,  set  problems  and  ques- 
tions and  have  children  to  find  solutions  and  answers. 
It  must  tell  the  facts  and  answer  the  questions.  But. 
in  oral  narration  there  is  room  not  only  for  all  the 
skill  of  the  story-writer,  but  also  the  added  force  of 
voice,  personality,  lively  manner,  gesture,  action,  and 
close  adaptation  to  the  immediate  needs  of  children 
and  subject.  This  is  enough  to  command  the  undi- 
vided effort  of  the  young  teacher  at  first,  without 
entering  the  stormy  waters  and  shifting  currents  of 
pure  development  work. 

Yet  the  spirited  teacher  will  not  go  far  in  narrating 
a  story  without  a  tendency  to  ask  questions  to  inten- 
sify the  children's  thought,  or  to  quicken  the  discus- 
sion of  interesting  points.  Even  if  the  teachers  or 
parents  are  but  reading  a  good  story  from  a  book, 
it  is  most  natural,  at  times,  to  ask  questions  about 
the  meaning  of  certain  new  words,  or  geographical 
locations,  or  probabilities  in  the  working  out  of  the 
story.  These  are  the  simple  beginnings  of  develop- 
ment work,  and  produce  greater  thoughtfulness, 
keener  perceptions  of  the  facts,  and  a  better  absorp- 
tion of  the  story  into  a  child's  previous  knowledge. 

A  sharp  limitation  of  development  work  is  also 
found  in  the  circumstance  that  a  large  share  of  the 
facts  in  a  story  cannot  by  any  sort  of  ingenuity  be 
developed.  They  form  the  necessary  basis  for  later 
development  questions.  Even  many  of  the  facts 


32  SPECIAL   METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING 

which  might  be  developed  by  a  skilful  teacher  are 
better  told  directly,  because  of  the  difficulty  and 
time-devouring  nature  of  the  process.  There  may 
be  a  few  central  problerns  in  every  story,  which,  after 
the  necessary  facts  and  conditions  have  been  plainly 
told,  can  be  thoroughly  sifted  out  by  questions,  an- 
swers, and  discussions.  But  to  work  out  all  the  little 
details  of  a  story  by  question  and  surmise,  to  get  the 
crude,  unbaked  opinions  of  all  the  members  of  a  class 
upon  every  episode  and  fact  in  a  story,  is  a  pitiful 
caricature  of  good  instruction. 

The  purpose  of  good  development  work  is  to  get 
children  to  go  deeper  into  the  meaning  of  a  story,  to 
realize  its  situations  more  keenly,  and  to  acquire 
habits  of  thoughtfulness,  self-reliant  judgment,  and 
inventiveness  in  solving  difficulties.  These  results, 
and  they  are  among  the  chiefest  set  for  the  educator, 
cannot  be  accomplished  by  mere  narration  and  de- 
scription. Their  superior  excellence  and  worth  are 
the  prize  of  that  superior  skill  which  first-class  devel- 
opment work  demands. 

With  these  preliminary  remarks,  criticisms,  and 
limitations  in  mind,  we  may  inquire  what  are  the  es- 
sentials of  good  development  work  in  oral  lessons. 

(i)  Determine  what  parts  of  a  story  are  capable  of 
development ;  what  facts  must  be  clearly  present  to 
the  mind  before  questions  can  be  put  and  inferences 
derived.  In  a  problem  in  arithmetic  we  first  state 
the  known  facts,  the  conditions  upon  which  a  solu- 


THE  BASIS   OF   SKILL   IN  ORAL   WORK  33 

tion  can  be  based,  and  then  put  a  question  whose 
answer  is  to  be  gained  by  a  proper  conjunction  and 
inference  from  these  facts.  The  same  thing  is  true 
in  reasoning  upon  the  facts  in  a  story. 

(2)  In  placing  a  topic  before  children  it  is  always 
advisable  to  touch  up  the  knowledge  already  pos- 
sessed by  the  children,  or  any  parts  of  their  previous 
experience  which  have  strong  interpretative  ideas  for 
the  new  lesson.     At  this  point  apt  questions  which 
probe    quickly   into    their  previous   knowledge   and 
experience  are  at  a  premium.     The  teacher  needs 
to   have  considered  beforehand  in  what  particulars 
the  children's   home  surroundings  and  peculiar  cir- 
cumstances may  furnish  the  desired  knowledge.     The 
form  of  the  questions  may  also  receive  close  atten- 
tion.   For  these  words  must  provoke  definite  thought. 
They  should  have  hooks  on  them  which  quickly  drag 
experience  into  light. 

(3)  In  order  to   give  direction  to   the  children's 
thoughts  on  the  story's  line  of  progress,  interesting 
aims  should  be  set  up.     These  aims,  without  antici- 
pating   precise    results,   must    guide    the    children 
towards  the  desired  ends  and  turning-points  in   the 
story.     The  mind  should  be  kept  in  suspense  as  to 
the  outcome,  and   the  thoughts   should   centre   and 
play  about  these  clearly  projected  aims.     Such  aims, 
floating   constantly  in    the   van,   are    the    objective 
points,    towards  which    the   energy   of    thought  is 
directed.     Every  good  story-teller  keeps  such  aims 


34  SPECIAL    METHOD    IN    PRIMARY    READING 

expressly  or  tacitly  in  view.  Novelists  and  drama- 
tists hinge  the  interest  of  readers  or  spectators 
upon  this  curiosity  which  is  kept  acutely  sensitive 
about  results.  Such  an  aim  should  be  simple  and 
concrete,  not  vague  or  abstract,  or  general.  It  may 
be  put  in  the  form  of  a  question  or  statement  or 
suggestion.  It  will  be  a  good  share  of  the  teacher's 
work  in  the  preparation  of  the  lesson  to  pick  out  and 
word  these  aims  which  centre  upon  the  leading 
topics  of  the  lesson.  For  it  is  not  enough  to  have 
an  aim  at  the  beginning  of  a  story,  every  chapter 
or  separate  part  of  the  story  should  have  its  aim. 
For  aims  are  what  stimulate  effort  and  keep  up  an 
attentive  interest. 

(4)  Self-activity  and  thoughtfulness  in  working 
out  problems  find  their  best  opportunity  in  develop- 
ment work.  The  book,  in  narrating  a  story,  cannot 
set  problems,  or,  if  it  does,  it  forthwith  assumes  the 
task  of  solving  them.  But  in  the  oral  development 
of  a  story  the  essential  facts  and  conditions  may  be 
clearly  presented  and  the  solution  of  the  difficulties, 
as  in  arithmetic,  left  largely  to  the  ingenuity  and 
reasoning  power  of  the  children.  In  the  story  of 
Hiawatha's  boat-building  the  problem  may  be  set  to 
the  children  as  to  what  materials  he  will  use  in  the 
construction  of  the  canoe,  how  the  parts  were  put 
together,  and  how  he  might  decorate  it.  Not  that 
the  children  will  give  the  whole  solution,  but  they 
can  contribute  much  to  it.  In  "  Robinson  Crusoe  " 


THE   BASIS   OF    SKILL    IN   ORAL    WORK  35 

many  such  problems  arise.  How  shall  he  conceal 
his  cave  and  house  from  possible  enemies  ?  Where 
can  he  store  his  powder  to  keep  it  from  the  lightning 
and  from  dampness?  In  fact,  nearly  every  step  in 
Crusoe's  interesting  career  is  such  a  problem  or  diffi- 
culty to  battle  with.  In  Kingsley's  "  Greek  Heroes  " 
and  other  renderings  of  the  Greek  myths,  the  heroes 
are  young  men  who  have  shrewdness,  courage,  and 
strength  to  overcome  difficulties.  To  put  these  diffi- 
culties before  children  in  such  a  way  that  they  by 
their  own  thinking  may  anticipate,  in  part  at  least, 
the  proper  solutions,  is  one  of  the  chief  merits  of 
development  work.  The  story  of  Ulysses  is  a  series 
of  shrewd  contrivances  to  master  difficulties  or  to 
avoid  misfortunes,  so  that  his  name  has  become  a 
synonym  for  shrewdness.  The  story  itself,  therefore, 
furnishes  prime  opportunities  to  develop  resourceful- 
ness. How  shall  he  escape  from  the  enraged  Poly- 
phemos  in  the  cave  ?  His  invention  of  the  wooden 
horse  before  Troy ;  his  escape  from  the  sirens ;  his 
battle  with  the  suitors  and  others.  The  story  of 
Aladdin  has  such  interesting  inventions,  and  even 
the  fairy  tales  and  fables  have  many  turns  of  shrewd- 
ness and  device  where  the  children's  wits  may 
be  stimulated.  The  turning-points  and  centres  of 
interest  in  all  such  stories  are  the  true  wrestling- 
grounds  of  thought.  To  put  them  point-blank  before 
children  in  continuous  narrative,  without  question 
or  discussion,  is  not  the  way  to  produce  thoughtful- 


36  SPECIAL   METHOD   IN   PRIMARY  READING 

ness  and  inventive  power.  Merely  reading  or  telling 
stories  to  children  without  comment  is  entertaining, 
but  not  educative  in  the  better  sense.  Children  will 
have  plenty  of  chances  at  home  and  in  the  school 
library  to  read  and  hear  stories,  but  it  is  the  business 
of  the  school  to  teach  them  how  to  think  as  they 
read,  to  produce  a  habit  of  foreseeing,  reviewing, 
comparing,  and  judging.  The  serious  defect  of 
much  of  young  people's  reading,  from  ten  years  on, 
is  its  superficial,  transitory  character.  It  lacks  depth, 
strength,  and  permanency.  It  is  not  many  stories 
that  can  be  orally  treated  in  this  thorough-going  way, 
but  enough  to  give  the  right  idea,  and  to  cultivate 
habit  and  taste  for  more  thoughtful  study. 

For  skilled  teachers,  therefore,  development  lessons, 
within  certain  limits,  constitute  a  most  important 
phase  of  oral  instruction.  It  has  been  sometimes 
assumed  that  a  child  acquires  greater  self-reliance 
and  a  stronger  exercise  in  self-activity  by  learning 
his  lesson  by  himself  from  a  book.  This  is  probably 
true  in  much  of  the  arithmetic,  where  he  works  out 
the  solution  of  problems  unaided ;  but  in  history  and 
literature  the  book  work  is  chiefly  memory  work,  and 
oftentimes  becomes  of  such  parrot-like  character 
as  to  be  almost  destitute  of  higher  educative  quali- 
ties. It  is  advisable,  therefore,  to  strengthen  the 
educative  value  of  story  work  by  giving  it,  through 
oral  instruction,  this  problem-solving  character,  this 
thought-stimulating,  self-reliant  attitude  of  mind. 


THE   BASIS   OF   SKILL   IN   ORAL   WORK  3? 

7.  When  the  teacher  has  shown  his  best  skill  in 
presenting  and  discussing  a  section  of  a  story,  it  then 
devolves  upon  the  children  to  show  their  knowledge 
and  grasp  of  the  subject  by  reproducing  it.  The 
task  of  getting  this  well  done  requires,  perhaps,  as 
much  skill  and  force  of  character  as  all  previous 
work  of  oral  instruction.  Obstacles  are  met  with  at 
once.  It  is  dull  work  to  go  back  over  the  same  thing 
again,  and  the  children  soon  get  tired  of  it.  They 
want  something  new  and  more  exciting,  and  press 
for  the  rest  of  the  story.  Many  children  are  at  first 
deficient  in  power  of  attention  and  in  language,  so 
that  their  efforts  at  reproduction  are  clumsy  and  poor. 
The  interest  is  weak,  the  attention  of  the  children 
scattering,  and  the  class  is  apt  to  go  to  pieces  under 
the  strain  of  such  dull  work.  This  is  an  emergency 
where  a  teacher  needs  both  skill  and  force  of  char- 
acter. (What  a  comfort  it  is  to  a  writer  to  have  such 
a  platitude  as  this  to  fall  back  upon,  when  he  gets 
a  teacher  into  a  place  where  nothing  but  his  own 
devices  can  save  him.) 

There  are,  however,  some  hopeful  considerations 
which  may  encourage  a  teacher  whose  feet  are  not 
already  too  deep  in  the  bog  of  discouragement. 

Children  enjoy  the  retelling  of  good  stories  with 
which  they  are  familiar.  They  will  do  it  at  home, 
even  if  they  are  not  very  proficient  at  it  in  school. 
In  every  class  there  are  some  talkative  children  who 
are  always  willing  to  make  an  effort.  Again,  it  is 


38  SPECIAL    METHOD   IN    PRIMARY   READING 

not  always  difficult  to  interest  boys  and  girls  in  doing 
a  thing  that  requires  skill  and  power,  such  as  memory, 
attentiveness,  and  mastery  of  correct  language.  The 
force  of  the  teacher's  influence  and  authority  is  worth 
something  in  setting  up  high  standards  of  proficiency. 
Indeed,  children  respect  a  teacher  who  makes  rigor- 
ous demands  upon  them.  The  retelling  of  stories 
is,  after  all,  no  harder  nor  duller  than  the  reciting  of 
a  lesson  learned  out  of  a  book. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  whole  effectiveness  of  oral 
work  depends  upon  the  success  of  these  oral  repro- 
ductions. If  children  know  that  the  teacher  is  in 
earnest  they  will  be  more  attentive,  so  as  to  be 
able  to  fulfil  the  requirement.  Such  a  reproduction 
reveals  at  once  a  child's  correct  or  incorrect  grasp 
of  the  subject,  and  in  either  case  the  teacher  knows 
what  to  do  next.  Errors  and  misconceptions  can  be 
corrected  and  such  explanations  or  additional  facts 
given  as  will  clarify  the  subject. 

In  such  reproductions  it  is  praiseworthy  to  help 
the  children  as  little  as  possible,  to  throw  them  back 
upon  their  own  power  as  much  as  possible.  If  the 
teacher  constantly  relieves  them  with  suggestive  ques- 
tions, they  lean  more  and  more  upon  her  direction 
and  lose  all  self-reliant  power  of  continuous  narra- 
tive. No,  let  the  teacher  keep  a  prudent  silence,  let 
her  seal  her  lips,  if  necessary,  in  order  to  teach  boys 
and  girls  to  stand  on  their  own  power  of  thought. 

Under  this  sort  of  discipline,  kindly  but  rigorous, 


THE    BASIS   OF   SKILL   IN   ORAL   WORK  39 

children  will  gradually  acquire  confidence  in  manner, 
variety  and  choice  of  language,  in  short,  the  ability  to 
grasp  clearly,  hold  firmly,  and  express  accurately  the 
ideas  which  are  presented  to  them. 

The  whole  purpose  of  this  sort  of  instruction  is  not 
so  much  to  see  how  skilfully  a  teacher  can  present  a 
lesson  (though  that  is  a  fine  art)  as  to  determine  how 
well  a  boy  or  girl  can  master  or  express  knowledge, 
can  learn  to  think  and  speak  for  himself. 

8.  Some  teachers  despair  of  treating  stories  orally 
in  large  classes  of  primary  children.  The  task  of 
holding  together  such  wriggling  varieties  of  mental 
force  and  mental  inertia  is  great.  Some  children  are 
quick  and  excitable,  others  are  unresponsive  and  dull. 
Some  are  timid  and  sensitive,  others  bold  and  demon- 
strative. Some  are  talkative  and  irrepressible,  others 
silent  or  listless. 

It  is  interesting  to  consider  the  function  and  value 
of  a  good  child's  story  to  fit  in  to  such  varying  needs 
and  personalities.  If  the  purpose  of  the  primary 
school  is  simply  to  keep  children  busy  at  some  kind 
of  orderly  work,  there  are  other  tamer  employments 
than  stories.  But  if  the  idea  is  to  put  children's 
minds  and  bodies  into  healthy,  vigorous  action,  it 
would  be  difficult  to  find  a  more  suitable  instrument 
than  a  fitting  story. 

But  a  good  primary  teacher  knows  better  than  to 
establish  brusque  and  fixed  standards  of  uniform 
success  for  all  children.  It  will  take  much  time  and 


40  SPECIAL   METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING 

patience  to  get  anything  like  good  oral  responses 
from  some  children.  Like  budding  flowers  some 
unfold  their  leaves  and  petals  much  quicker  at  the 
touch  of  sunshine  than  others.  But  the  sun  does  not 
stop  shining  because  all  do  not  come  out  at  once. 
The  crudest  efforts  of  little  children  must  be  received 
with  kindness  and  encouragement.  The  power  of 
reproducing  thought  and  language  is  very  slowly 
acquired  by  many  children.  They  are  timidly  self- 
conscious,  distrustful  of  their  own  powers,  and  have 
not  learned  to  throw  themselves  with  confidence  upon 
the  good-will  of  their  teachers.  It  may  take  months 
with  some  children  to  overcome  these  obstacles,  and 
to  bring  them  to  a  confident  use  of  their  powers,  but 
it  is  the  highest  delight  of  a  teacher  to  reach  this 
result. 

Some  children,  on  the  other  hand,  are  so  talkative 
and  impulsive  that  they  will  monopolize  the  time  of 
the  class  to  no  good  purpose.  Their  enthusiasm 
requires  tempering  and  their  soberer  thought  strength- 
ening. 

Another  difficulty  lies  in  the  necessary  effort  to  get 
correct  English,  to  gradually  mould  the  language  of 
children  into  correct  forms.  The  perverse  habits  of 
children,  the  influence  of  home  and  playground,  the 
inveterate  preference  for  slang  and  crude,  crass 
expressions,  and  their  sensitive  pride  against  unusual 
refinements  of  speech,  make  the  cultivation  of  good 
English  an  uphill  task.  But  roads  must  be  laid  out 


THE   BASIS   OF  SKILL   IN  ORAL   WORK  4! 

through  this  wilderness  of  hills  and  valleys,  stumps 
and  brush.  And  these  roads  must  be  gradually 
worked  down  into  smooth  highways  of  travel.  It  is 
pioneer  toil,  requiring  the  steady  use  of  axe  and 
mattock  and  spade. 

There  is  no  kind  of  school  training  where  good  Eng- 
lish can  be  cultivated  to  better  advantage,  where  the 
power  of  correct,  independent,  well-articulated  speech 
can  be  so  well  strengthened  as  in  oral  story.  It  is 
in  the  close  contact  of  this  work  that  the  teacher  is 
dealing  directly  with  the  original  stock  of  experiences, 
ideas,  and  words  of  every  child,  and  with  these  as 
instruments  of  acquisition,  helping  him  to  get  a 
spirited  introduction  to  the  world  of  ideas  in  books 
and  literature. 

It  is  here  that  we  can  get  a  glimpse  of  that  vast 
work  which  the  elementary  schools  of  the  country 
are  doing  in  the  way  of  Americanizing  the  children 
of  various  nationalities  and  in  giving  them  not  only 
a  common  language,  but  a  common  body  of  ideas 
rooted  in  the  earliest  experiences  of  childhood  and 
already  laying  hold  of  many  of  the  richest  treasures 
of  American  history  and  of  the  world's  literature. 

9.  As  children  advance  from  the  first  year  into  the 
second  and  third  years  the  character  of  the  oral  story- 
telling gradually  changes.  Children  should  acquire 
more  power  of  attention,  greater  command  of  lan- 
guage and  ability  to  grasp  and  hold  at  one  telling 
a  larger  section  of  a  story.  The  stories  themselves 


42  SPECIAL    METHOD    IN   PRIMARY   READING 

become  more  complex,  the  questions  and  problems 
set  by  the  teacher  more  difficult.  The  necessity  for 
sharp,  logical  outlines  of  leading  topics  increases  as 
one  advances  in  the  grades.  Older  children  can 
be  held  more  rigidly  to  common  standards  of  excel- 
lence in  thought  and  language.  In  this,  however, 
the  teacher  should  always  remember  that  children 
differ  greatly  in  their  natural  powers  of  expression, 
and  that  a  forcing  process  will  not  be  so  successful 
as  a  stimulating  and  encouraging  attitude  in  the 
teacher. 

10.  The  good  oral  treatment  of  most  stories  leads 
the  children  to  much  activity  in  material  construc- 
tions. Where  the  minds  of  children  are  brought  to 
a  healthy  activity  their  bodies  and  physical  energies 
are  pretty  sure  to  be  called  into  play  to  work  out  the 
suggested  lines  of  thought.  "Robinson  Crusoe"  in- 
variably leads  the  children  to  a  multitude  of  building 
and  making  enterprises,  such  as  moulding  vessels  in 
clay,  constructing  the  barricade  around  his  tent  and 
cave,  the  making  of  chairs  and  tables,  etc. 

'We  have  already  noticed  the  readiness  of  children 
to  make  blackboard  or  other  drawings  of  interesting 
objects  in  a  story,  or  to  cut  them  out  with  scissors 
from  paper.  This  effort  to  experience  the  realities 
of  life  more  directly  by  making  objects  of  common 
utility  and  necessity  is  a  characteristic  and  powerful 
tendency  of  childhood.  It  is  commonly  seen  in 
children  about  the  house,  when,  for  example,  they 


THE   BASIS    OF    SKILL    IN   ORAL    WORK  43 

must  have  wagons,  wheelbarrows,  tools,  or  a  set  of 
garden  implements  with  which  to  imitate  the  employ- 
ments of  their  elders.  Parkman  and  others  often 
speak  of  the  constant  practice  of  little  Indian  boys 
with  bow  and  arrows. 

Our  purpose  here  is  not  to  discuss  this  matter  at 
length,  but  simply  to  notice  its  prominent  place  in 
connection  with  the  oral  lesson  in  story.  The  intense 
interest  awakened  in  stories  leads  quickly  to  these 
efforts  at  construction.  What  shall  the  teacher  do 
with  this  powerful  tendency  of  children  to  carry  over 
these  ideas  into  the  field  of  practical  constructive 
labor?  To  the  thinker  this  tendency  is  perhaps 
the  surest  proof  of  the  value  of  the  story.  It  does 
not  stop  with  words  nor  ideas.  It  pushes  far  into  the 
region  of  voluntary,  physical,  and  mental  labor  and 
application  of  knowledge. 

The  teacher  who  will  make  good  use  of  this  enter- 
prising constructive  desire  of  children  must  know  defi- 
nitely about  tools,  boards,  shops,  various  industries, 
and  technical  trades,  the  special  materials,  inventions, 
and  devices  of  artisans  in  the  common  occupations, 
such  as  farming,  gardening,  blacksmithing,  the  car- 
penter shop,  the  baker,  the  quarry,  the  brick  kiln,  etc. 

It  will  not  be  strange  if  many  teachers  recoil,  at 
first  glance,  from  this  leap  into  industrial  life.  It 
suggests  that  the  schoolhouse  must  become  a  big 
machine  shop,  agricultural  station,  etc.  The  trouble 
is,  of  course,  that  teachers  do  not  feel  themselves 


44  SPECIAL    METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING 

qualified  in  these  things.  They  know  almost  as 
little  as  the  children  about  such  matters,  and  have 
much  less  inclination  to  know  more. 

But  our  modern  education  is  taking  a  decided  turn 
in  this  direction,  and  with  good  reason.  The  close 
acquaintance  of  our  teachers  with  the  common  occu- 
pations of  life,  with  their  materials,  tools,  machines, 
constructions,  and  skill  would  supply  them  with  a  rich 
collection  of  practical,  concrete,  illustrative  knowl- 
edge of  the  greatest  use  in  instructing  children.  It 
is  impossible  to  mention  anything  which  would  be 
of  more  service  to  them  in  the  details  of  instruction. 
The  advantages  to  the  children  of  such  teaching,  re- 
enforced  by  this  concrete  detail  of  common  life,  are 
so  numerous  and  important  as  to  deserve  a  special 
effort.  The  benefit  to  teachers  would  quickly  more 
than  recompense  them  for  the  labor  involved.  By 
occasional  visits  of  observation  in  shops,  fields,  stores, 
and  factories,  by  assisting  children  in  their  construc- 
tive efforts,  the  teacher  will  acquire  knowledge, 
strength,  and  confidence  for  such  work.  The  unfa- 
miliarity  of  teachers  with  these  everyday  industrial 
matters,  and  their  feeling  of  helplessness  as  regards 
things  not  in  the  usual  routine  of  school,  are  the  real 
hindrances  to  be  overcome. 

There  are  other  subjects  in  the  school  course,  like 
home  geography  and  the  early  lessons  in  nature 
study,  which  deal  more  directly  than  stories  with 
these  practical  forms  of  industrial  life  and  construe- 


THE   BASIS   OF   SKILL   IN   ORAL   WORK  45 

tive  activity.  They  will  also  demand  and  cultivate  an 
increasing  knowledge  of  this  practical  phase  of  life 
and  education.  The  lessons  in  oral  story-telling 
stand  thus  closely  linked  with  progressive  experi- 
mental knowledge  in  other  studies. 

A  brief  retrospect  and  summary  of  the  require- 
ments necessary  as  a  basis  of  good  oral  treatment  of 
stories  will  impress  us  with  the  skill  and  resourceful- 
ness needed  by  the  teacher. 

1.  First-hand  experience  with  the  realities  of  life. 

2.  Intimate  knowledge  and  sympathy  with   child 
life. 

3.  The  many-sided  mastery  of  the  story  for  teach- 
ing purposes. 

4.  Skill  in  the  use  of  simple,  apt,  and  forcible 
language. 

5.  Power  of  narrative   and  description,  together 
with  various  forms  of   graphic  illustration,  dramatic 
action,  etc. 

6.  Clear  and  simple  outline  of  leading  topics. 

7.  Acquired    power  in   the   use   of    development 
methods,    including    question,    problem,   discussion, 
aims,  and  the  training  of  children  to  self -activity  and 
thoughtfulness. 

8.  The  successful  oral  reproduction  of  stories  by 
the  children. 

9.  Tact  in   the   handling   of    large   classes,  with 
children  of  differing  temperament  and  capacity,  and 
the  encouragement  of  timid  children. 


46  SPECIAL    METHOD    IN   PRIMARY   READING 

10.  Changing  character  of  oral  work  in  advancing 
grades. 

n.  The  need  of  insight  and  ability  to  supervise 
constructive  activities. 

These  things  include  a  wide  range  of  clear  knowl- 
edge and  confident  skill  and  resource.  Teachers 
need  first  of  all  to  cultivate  resourcefulness  in  the  use 
of  their  own  knowledge  and  experience,  and  to  add  to 
both  of  these  as  rapidly  as  circumstances  permit. 

The  mere  reading  of  stories  to  children  by  the 
teacher,  at  odd  times,  on  Friday  afternoons  or  on 
special  occasions,  is  also  of  much  value  as  a  means  of 
interesting  children  in  a  wide  range  of  good  books. 
It  is  a  source  of  entertainment  and  culture,  which, 
when  judiciously  and  skilfully  employed,  adds  much 
to  the  educative  power  of  the  school. 


CHAPTER  III 

FIRST  GRADE  STORIES 

FAIRY  TALES 

YOUNG  children,  as  we  all  know,  are  delighted  with 
stories,  and  in  the  first  grade  they  are  still  in  this 
story-loving  period.  A  good  story  is  the  best  medium 
through  which  to  convey  ideas  and  also  to  approach 
the  difficulties  of  learning  to  read.  Such  a  story, 
Wilmann  says,  is  a  pedagogical  treasure.  By  many 
thinkers  and  primary  teachers  the  fairy  stories  have 
been  adopted  as  best  suited  to  the  wants  of  the  little 
folk  just  emerging  from  the  home.  A  series  of  fairy 
tales  was  selected  by  Ziller,  one  of  the  leading  Her- 
bartians,  as  a  centre  for  the  school  work  of  the  first 
year.  These  stories  have  long  held  a  large  place  in 
the  home  culture  of  children,  especially  of  the  more 
cultivated  class.  Now  it  is  claimed  that  what  is  good 
for  the  few  whose  parents  may  be  cultured  and  sym- 
pathetic, may  be  good  enough  for  the  children  of  the 
common  people  and  of  the  poor.  Moreover,  stories 
that  have  made  the  fireside  more  joyous  and  blessed 
may  perchance  bring  vivacity  and  happiness  into 
schoolrooms.  The  home  and  the  school  are  coming 
closer  together.  It  is  even  said  that  well-trained, 

47 


48  SPECIAL   METHOD    IN   PRIMARY   READING 

sympathetic  primary  teachers  may  better  tell  and 
impress  these  stories  than  overworked  mothers  and 
busy  fathers.  If  these  literary  treasures  are  left  for 
the  homes  to  discover  and  use,  the  majority  of  chil- 
dren will  know  little  or  nothing  of  them.  Many 
schools  in  this  country  have  been  using  them  in  the 
first  grade  in  recent  years  with  a  pleasing  effect. 

But  what  virtue  lies  concealed  in  these  fairy  myths 
for  the  children  of  our  practical  and  sensible  age? 
Why  should  we  draw  from  fountains  whose  sources 
are  back  in  the  prehistoric  and  even  barbarous  past  ? 
To  many  people  it  appears  as  a  curious  anachronism 
to  nourish  little  children  in  the  first  decade  of  this 
new  century  upon  food  that  was  prepared  in  the 
tents  of  wandering  tribes  in  early  European  history. 
What  are  the  merits  of  these  stories  for  children  just 
entering  upon  scholastic  pursuits  ?  They  are  known 
to  be  generally  attractive  to  children  of  this  age,  but 
many  sober-minded  people  distrust  them.  Are  they 
really  meat  and  drink  for  the  little  ones  ?  And  not 
only  so,  but  the  choicest  meat  and  drink,  the  best 
food  upon  which  to  nourish  their  unfolding  minds  ? 

Fairy  tales  are  charged  with  misleading  children 
by  falsifying  the  truth  of  things.  And,  indeed,  they 
pay  little  heed  to  certain  natural  laws  that  practical 
people  of  good  sense  always  respect.  A  child,  how- 
ever, is  not  so  humdrum  practical  as  these  serious 
truth-lovers.  A  little  girl  talks  to  her  doll  as  if  it 
had  real  ears.  She  and  her  little  brother  make  tea- 


FIRST   GRADE   STORIES  49 

cups  and  saucers  out  of  acorns  with  no  apparent 
compunctions  of  conscience.  They  follow  Cinderella 
to  the  ball  in  a  pumpkin  chariot,  transformed  by 
magic  wand,  with  even  greater  interest  than  we  read 
of  a  presidential  ball.  A  child  may  turn  the  com- 
mon laws  of  physical  nature  inside  out  and  not  be  a 
whit  the  worse  for  it.  Its  imagination  can  people 
a  pea-pod  with  little  heroes  aching  for  a  chance  in 
the  big  world,  or  it  can  put  tender  personality  into 
the  trunk  and  branches  of  the  little  pine  tree  in  the 
forest.  There  are  no  space  limits  that  a  child's  fancy 
will  not  spring  over  in  a  twinkling.  It  can  ride  from 
star  to  star  on  a  broomstick,  or  glide  over  peaceful 
waters  in  a  fairy  boat  drawn  by  graceful  swans. 
Without  suggestion  from  mother  or  teacher,  children 
put  life  and  personality  into  their  playthings.  Their 
spontaneous  delights  are  in  this  playful  exercise  of 
the  fancy,  in  masquerading  under  the  guise  of  a 
soldier,  bear,  horse,  or  bird.  The  fairy  tale  is  the 
poetry  of  children's  inner  impulse  and  feeling ;  their 
sparkling  eyes  and  absorbed  interest  show  how  fitting 
is  the  contact  between  these  childlike  creations  of  the 
poet  and  their  own  budding  thoughts. 

In  discussing  the  qualities  requisite  in  a  fairy  story 
to  make  it  a  pedagogical  treasure,  Wilmann  says  : * 
"When  it  is  laid  down  as  a  first  and  indispensable 
requirement  that  a  story  be  genuinely  childlike,  the 
demand  sounds  less  rigorous  than  it  really  is.  It  is 

1  Wilmann,  Paedagogische  Vortrage. 


5O  SPECIAL   METHOD   IN   PRIMARY  READING 

easier  to  feel  than  to  describe  the  qualities  which  lend 
to  a  story  the  true  childlike  spirit.  It  is  not  sim- 
plicity alone.  A  simple  story  that  can  be  understood 
by  a  child  is  not  on  that  account  childlike.  The 
simplicity  must  be  the  ingenuousness  of  the  child. 
Close  to  this  lies  the  abyss  of  silliness  into  which 
so  many  children's  stories  tumble.  A  simple  story 
may  be  manufactured,  but  the  quality  of  true  sim- 
plicity will  not  be  breathed  into  it  unless  one  can  draw 
from  the  deeper  springs  of  poetic  invention.  It  is 
not  enough  that  the  externals  of  the  story,  such 
as  situation  and  action,  have  this  character,  but  the 
sensibilities  and  motives  of  the  actors  must  be  in- 
genuous and  childlike ;  they  should  reflect  the  child's 
own  feeling,  wish,  and  effort.  But  it  is  not  neces- 
sary on  this  account  that  the  persons  of  the  story  be 
children.  Indeed  the  king,  prince,  and  princess,  if 
they  only  speak  and  act  like  children,  are  much 
nearer  the  child's  comprehension  than  any  of  the 
children  paraded  in  a  manufactured  story,  designed 
for  the  '  industrious  youth.'  For  just  as  real  poetry 
so  the  real  child's  story  lies  beyond  reality  in  the 
field  of  fancy.  With  all  its  plainness  of  thought  and 
action,  the  genuine  child's  story  knows  how  to  take 
hold  of  the  child's  fancy  and  set  its  wings  in  motion. 
And  what  a  meaning  has  fancy  for  the  soul  of  the 
child  as  compared  with  that  of  the  adult.  For  us 
the  activity  of  fancy  only  sketches  arabesques,  as 
it  were,  around  the  sharply  defined  pictures  of  reality. 


FIRST   GRADE   STORIES  $1 

The  child  thinks  and  lives  in  such  arabesques,  and 
it  is  only  gradually  that  increasing  experience  writes 
among  these  arabesques  the  firmer  outlines  of  things. 
The  child's  thoughts  float  about  playfully  and  un- 
steadily, but  the  fairy  tale  is  even  lighter  winged 
than  they.  It  overtakes  these  fleeting  summer  birds 
and  wafts  them  together  without  brushing  the  dust 
from  their  wings. 

"  But  fostering  the  activity  of  fancy  in  children  is 
a  means,  not  an  end.  It  is  necessary  to  enter  the 
field  of  fancy  because  the  way  to  the  child's  heart 
leads  through  the  fancy.  The  effect  upon  the  heart 
of  the  child  is  the  second  mark  and  proof  of  the  genu- 
ine child's  story.  We  are  not  advocates  of  the  so- 
called  moral  stories  which  are  so  short-winded  as  to 
stop  frequently  and  rest  upon  some  moral  common- 
place. Platitudes  and  moral  maxims  are  not  de- 
signed to  develop  a  moral  taste  in  the  minds  of 
young  children,  for  they  appeal  to  the  understand- 
ing and  will  of  the  pupil  and  presuppose  what  must 
be  first  built  up  and  established.  True  moral  train- 
ing is  rather  calculated  to  awaken  in  the  child  judg- 
ments of  right  and  wrong,  of  good  and  evil  (on 
simple  illustrative  examples).  Not  the  impression 
left  by  a  moralizing  discourse  is  the  germ  of  a  love 
of  the  good  and  right,  but  rather  the  child's  judg- 
ment springing  from  its  own  conviction.  *  That  was 
good.'  '  What  a  mean  thing ! ' 

"  Those  narratives  have  a  moral  force  which  intro- 


52  SPECIAL   METHOD    IN   PRIMARY   READING 

duce  persons  and  acts  that  are  simple  and  trans- 
parent  enough  to  let  the  moral  light  shine  through, 
that  possess  sufficient  life  to  lend  warmth  and  vigor 
to  moral  judgments.  No  attempt  to  cover  up  or 
pass  over  what  is  bad,  nor  to  paint  it  in  extravagant 
colors.  For  the  bad  develops  the  judgment  no  less 
than  the  good.  It  remains  only  to  have  a  care  that 
a  child's  interest  inclines  toward  the  good,  the  just, 
and  the  right." 

Wilmann  summarizes  the  essentials  of  a  good  story, 
and  then  discusses  the  fairy  tales  as  follows  :  — 

"  There  are  then  five  requirements  to  be  made  of 
a  real  child's  story  :  Let  it  be  truly  childlike,  that  is, 
both  simple  and  full  of  fancy;  let  it  form  morals 
in  the  sense  that  it  introduces  persons  and  matters 
which,  while  simple  and  lively,  call  out  a  moral  judg- 
ment of  approval  or  disapproval ;  let  it  be  instructive 
and  lead  to  thoughtful  discussions  of  society  and 
nature ;  let  it  be  of  permanent  value,  inviting  per- 
petually to  a  reperusal ;  let  it  be  a  connected  whole, 
so  as  to  work  a  deeper  influence  and  become  the 
source  of  a  many-sided  interest. 

"  The  child's  story  which,  on  the  basis  of  the  afore- 
named principles,  can  be  made  the  starting-point  for 
all  others,  is  Grimm's  fairy  tale  of  folk  lore.  We  are 
now  called  upon  to  show  that  the  folk-lore  fairy  tale 
answers  to  the  foregoing  requirements,  and  in  this 
we  shall  see  many  a  ray  of  light  cast  back  upon 
these  requirements  themselves. 


FIRST   GRADE   STORIES  53 

"  Is  the  German  fairy  tale  childlike  ?  full  of  sim- 
plicity as  well  as  of  fancy  ?  A  deeply  poetic  saying 
of  Jacob  Grimm  may  teach  us  the  answer.  '  There 
runs  through  these  poetic  fairy  tales  the  same  deep 
vein  of  purity  by  reason  of  which  children  seem  to 
us  so  wonderful  and  blessed.  They  have,  as  it  were, 
the  same  pale-blue,  clear,  and  lustrous  eyes  which 
can  grow  no  more  although  the  other  members  are 
still  delicate  and  weak  and  unserviceable  to  the  uses 
of  earth.'  Klaiber  quotes  this  passage  in  his  '  Das 
Marchen  und  die  Kindliche  Phantasie,'  and  says 
with  truth  and  beauty,  '  Yes  ;  when  we  look  into  the 
trusting  eyes  of  a  child,  in  which  none  of  the  world's 
deceit  is  to  be  read  as  yet,  when  we  see  how  these 
eyes  brighten  and  gleam  at  a  beautiful  fairy  tale,  as 
if  they  were  looking  out  into  a  great,  wide,  beautiful 
wonder-world,  then  we  feel  something  of  the  deep 
connection  of  the  fairy  story  with  the  childish  soul.' 
We  will  bring  forward  one  more  passage  from  a  little 
treatise,  showing  depth  and  warmth  of  feeling,  which 
stealthily  takes  away  from  the  doubters  their  scruples 
about  the  justification  of  the  fairy  tale.  '  It  is  strange 
how  well  the  fairy  tale  and  the  child's  soul  mutually 
understand  each  other.  It  is  as  if  they  had  been 
together  from  the  very  beginning  and  had  grown  up 
together.  As  a  rule  the  child  only  deals  with  that 
part  of  real  life  which  concerns  itself  and  children  of 
its  age.  Whatever  lies  beyond  this  is  distant,  strange, 
unintelligible.  Under  the  leading  of  the  fairy  tale, 


54  SPECIAL    METHOD    IN    PRIMARY   READING 

however,  it  permits  itself  to  be  borne  over  hill  and 
valley,  over  land  and  sea,  through  sun  and  moon 
and  stars,  even  to  the  end  of  the  world,  and  every- 
thing is  so  near,  so  familiar,  so  close  to  its  reach,  as 
if  they  had  been  everywhere  before,  just  as  if  obscure 
pictures  within  had  all  at  once  become  wonderfully 
distinct.  And  the  fairies  all,  and  the  king's  sons, 
and  the  other  distinguished  personages,  whom  it 
learns  to  know  through  the  fairy  tale,  —  they  are  as 
natural  and  intelligible  as  if  the  child  had  moved  its 
life  long  in  the  highest  circles,  and  had  had  princes 
and  princesses  for  its  daily  playmates.  In  a  word, 
the  world  of  the  fairy  tale  is  the  child's  world,  for 
it  is  the  world  of  fancy.' 

"  For  this  reason  children  live  and  move  in  fairy- 
land, whether  the  story  be  told  by  the  mother  or  by 
the  teacher  in  the  primary  school.  What  attention 
as  the  story  proceeds !  What  anxiousness  when  any 
danger  threatens  the  hero,  be  he  king's  son  or  a 
wheat-straw !  What  grief,  even  to  tears,  when  a  wrong 
is  practised  upon  some  innocent  creature !  And  far 
from  it  that  the  joy  in  the  fairy  tale  decrease  when 
it  is  told  or  discussed  over  again.  Then  comes  the 
pleasure  of  representation  —  bringing  the  story  upon 
the  stage.  Though  a  child  has  but  to  represent  a 
flower  in  the  meadow,  the  little  face  is  transfigured 
with  the  highest  joy. 

"But  the  childish  joy  of  fairy  tales  passes  away; 
not  so  the  inner  experiences  which  it  has  brought 


FIRST    GRADE    STORIES  55 

with  it.  I  am  not  affirming  too  much  when  I  say 
that  he  who,  as  a  child,  has  never  listened  with  joy 
to  the  murmuring  and  rustling  of  the  fresh  fountain 
of  fairyland,  will  have  no  ear  and  no  understanding 
for  many  a  deep  stream  of  German  poetry.  It  is, 
after  all,  the  modest  fountain  of  fairy  song  which, 
flowing  and  uniting  with  the  now  noisy,  now  soft  and 
gently  flowing,  current  of  folk  song,  and  with  the 
deep  and  earnest  stream  of  tradition,  which  has 
poured  such  a  refreshing  current  over  German  poetry, 
out  of  which  our  most  excellent  Uhland  has  drawn 
so  many  a  heart-strengthening  draught. 

"  The  spirit  of  the  people  finds  expression  in  fairy 
tale  as  in  tradition  and  song,  and  if  we  were  only 
working  to  lift  and  strengthen  the  national  impulse, 
a  moral-educative  instruction  would  have  to  turn 
again  and  again  to  these  creations  of  the  people. 
What  was  asserted  as  a  general  truth  in  regard  to 
classical  products,  that  they  are  a  bond  between  large 
and  small,  old  and  young,  is  true  of  national  stories 
and  songs  more  than  of  anything  else.  They  are  at 
once  a  bond  between  the  different  classes,  a  national 
treasure,  which  belongs  alike  to  rich  and  poor,  high 
and  low.  The  common  school  then  has  the  least  right 
of  all  to  put  the  fairy  tale  aside,  now  that  few  women 
versed  in  fairy  lore,  such  as  those  to  whom  Grimm 
listened,  are  left. 

"  But  does  the  fairy  tale  come  of  noble  blood  ? 
Does  it  possess  what  we  called  in  the  case  of  classics 


$6  SPECIAL    METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING 

an  old  title  of  nobility  ?  If  we  keep  to  this  figure  of 
speech,  we  shall  find  that  the  fairy  tale  is  not  only 
noble,  but  a  very  royal  child  among  stories.  It  has 
ruled  from  olden  times,  far  and  wide,  over  many  a 
land.  Hundreds  of  years  gone,  Grimm's  fairy  stories 
lived  in  the  people's  heart,  and  not  in  Germany  alone. 
If  our  little  ones  listen  intently  to  Aschenputtel, 
French  children  delighted  in  Cindrillon,  the  Italian 
in  Cenerentola,  the  Polish  in  Kopcinszic.  The  fact 
that  mediaeval  story-books  contain  Grimm's  tales  is 
not  remarkable,  when  we  reflect  that  traits  and  char- 
acteristics of  the  fairy  tale  reach  back  beyond  the 
Christian  period ;  that  Frau  Holle  is  Hulda,  or  Frigg, 
the  heathen  goddess;  that  '  Wishing-cap,'  *  Little 
Lame-leg,'  and  '  Table  Cover  Thyself,'  etc.,  are  made 
up  out  of  the  attributes  of  German  gods.  Finally, 
such  things  as  '  The  Sleeping  Beauty,'  which  is  the 
earth  in  winter  sleep,  that  the  prince  of  summer 
wakes  with  kisses  in  springtime,  point  back  to  the 
period  of  primitive  Indo-German  myth. 

"But  in  addition  to  the  requirement  of  classical 
nobility,  has  the  fairy  story  also  the  moral  tone  which 
we  required  of  the  genuine  child's  story  ?  Does  the 
fairy  story  make  for  morals  ?  To  be  sure  it  intro- 
duces to  an  ideal  realm  of  simple  moral  relations. 
The  good  and  bad  are  sharply  separated.  The  wrong 
holds  for  a  time  its  supremacy,  but  the  final  victory 
is  with  the  good.  And  with  what  vigor  the  judgment 
of  good  and  evil,  «of  right  and  wrong,  is  produced 


FIRST  GRADE   STORIES  57 

We  meet  touching  pictures,  especially  of  good-will, 
of  faithfulness,  characteristic  and  full  of  life.  Think 
only  of  the  typical  interchange  of  words  between 
Lenchen  and  Fundevogel.  Said  Lenchen,  *  Leave 
me  not  and  I  will  never  leave  thee.'  Said  Funde- 
vogel, *  Now  and  nevermore.'  We  are  reminded  of 
the  Bible  words  of  the  faithful  Ruth,  '  Whither  thou 
goest  I  will  go;  where  thou  lodgest  I  will  lodge; 
where  thou  diest  I  will  die  and  there  will  I  be 
buried/ 

"  Important  for  the  life  of  children  is  the  rigor  with 
which  the  fairy  tale  punishes  disobedience  and  false- 
hood. Think  of  the  suggestive  legendary  story  of 
the  child  which  was  visited  again  and  again  with  mis- 
fortune because  of  its  obstinacy,  till  its  final  confession 
of  guilt  brings  full  pardon.  It  is  everywhere  a  Chris- 
tian thread  which  runs  through  so  many  fairy  stories. 
It  is  love  for  the  rejected,  oppressed,  and  abandoned. 
Whatever  is  loaded  with  burdens  and  troubles  receives 
the  palm,  and  the  first  becomes  the  last. 

"The  fairy  story  fulfils  the  first  three  require- 
ments for  a  true  child's  story.  It  is  childlike,  of 
lasting  value,  and  fosters  moral  ideas.  As  to  unity 
it  will  suffice  for  children  of  six  years  (for  this  is,  in 
our  opinion,  the  age  at  which  it  exerts  its  moral 
force)  that  the  stories  be  told  in  the  same  spirit, 
although  they  do  not  form  one  connected  narrative. 
If  a  good  selection  of  fairy  tales  according  to  their 
inner  connection  is  made,  so  that  frequent  references 


$8  SPECIAL    METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING 

and  connections  can  be  found,  the  requirement  of 
unity  will  be  satisfied. 

"The  fairy  tale  seems  to  satisfy  least  of  all  the 
demand  that  the  true  child's  story  must  be  instruc- 
tive, and  serve  as  a  starting-point  for  interesting 
practical  discussion.  The  fairy  story  seems  too  airy 
and  dreamy  for  this,  and  it  might  appear  pedantry 
to  load  it  with  instruction.  But  one  will  not  be 
guilty  of  this  mistake  if  one  simply  follows  up  the 
ideas  which  the  story  suggests.  When  the  story  of 
a  chicken,  a  fox,  or  a  swan  is  told  it  is  fully  in  har- 
mony with  the  childish  thought  to  inquire  into  the 
habits  of  these  animals.  When  the  king  is  mentioned 
it  is  natural  to  say  that  we  have  a  king,  to  ask  where 
he  lives,  etc.  Just  because  the  fairy  tale  sinks  deep 
and  holds  a  firm  and  undivided  attention,  it  is  pos- 
sible to  direct  the  suggested  thoughts  hither  or 
thither  without  losing  the  pleasure  they  create. 
If  one  keeps  this  aim  in  mind,  instructive  material 
is  abundant.  The  fairy  tale  introduces  various  em- 
ployments and  callings,  from  the  king  to  the  farmer, 
tailor,  and  shoemaker.  Many  passages  in  life,  such 
as  betrothal,  marriage,  and  burial,  are  presented. 
Labors  in  the  house,  yard,  and  field,  and  numerous 
animals,  plants,  and  inanimate  things  are  touched 
upon.  For  the  observation  of  animals  and  for  the 
relation  between  them  and  children,  it  is  fortunate 
that  the  fairy  tale  presents  them  as  talking  and  feel- 
ing. Thereby  the  interest  in  real  animals  is  in- 


FIRST   GRADE   STORIES  59 

creased  and  heartlessness  banished.  How  could  a 
child  put  to  the  torture  an  animal  which  is  an  old 
friend  in  fairy  story  ? 

"  I  need  only  suggest  in  this  place  how  the  fairy 
story  furnishes  material  for  exercises  in  oral  language, 
for  the  division  of  words  into  syllables  and  letters, 
and  how  the  beginnings  of  writing,  drawing,  number, 
and  manual  exercises  may  be  drawn  from  the  same 
source. 

"From  the  suggestions  just  made  the  following 
conclusions  at  least  may  be  reasonably  drawn.  A 
sufficient  counterpoise  to  the  fantastical  nature  of 
the  fairy  tale  can  be  given  in  a  manner  simple  and 
childlike,  if  the  objects  and  relations  involved  in  the 
narratives  are  brought  clearly  before  the  senses  and 
discussed  so  that  instruction  about  common  objects 
and  home  surroundings  is  begun." 

In  speaking  of  Shakespeare's  early  training  in 
literature,  Charles  Kingsley  says  :  — 

"I  said  there  was  a  literary  art  before  Shake- 
speare—  an  art  more  simple,  more  childlike,  more 
girlish,  as  it  were,  and  therefore  all  the  more  adapted 
for  young  minds,  but  also  an  art  most  vigorous  and 
pure  in  point  of  style  :  thoroughly  fitted  to  give  its 
readers  the  first  elements  of  taste,  which  must  lie  at 
the  root  of  even  the  most  complex  aesthetics. 

"The  old  fairy  superstition,  the  old  legends  and 
ballads,  the  old  chronicles  of  feudal  war  and  chiv- 
alry, the  earlier  moralities  and  mysteries  and  tragi- 


6O  SPECIAL   METHOD    IN   PRIMARY   READING 

comic  attempts  —  these  were  the  roots  of  his  poetic 
tree  —  they  must  be  the  roots  of  any  literary  educa- 
tion which  can  teach  us  to  appreciate  him.  These 
fed  Shakespeare's  youth ;  why  should  they  not  feed 
our  children's  ?  Why  indeed  ?  That  inborn  delight 
of  the  young  in  all  that  is  marvellous  and  fantastic  — 
has  that  a  merely  evil  root  ?  No  surely !  It  is  a 
most  pure  part  of  their  spiritual  nature;  a  part  of 
'  the  heaven  which  lies  about  us  in  our  infancy ' ; 
angel-wings  with  which  the  free  child  leaps  the 
prison-walls  of  sense  and  custom,  and  the  drudgery 
of  earthly  life." 

Felix  Adler  says : l  "  But  how  shall  we  handle 
these  Mdrchen  and  what  method  shall  we  employ 
in  putting  them  to  account  for  our  special  purpose? 
I  have  a  few  thoughts  on  this  subject,  which  I  shall 
venture  to  submit  in  the  form  of  counsels. 

"  My  first  counsel  is  :  Tell  the  story  ;  do  not  give  it 
to  the  child  to  read.  There  is  an  obvious  practical 
reason  for  this.  Children  are  able  to  benefit  by 
hearing  fairy  tales  before  they  can  read.  But  that 
is  not  the  only  reason.  It  is  the  childhood  of  the 
race,  as  we  have  seen,  that  speaks  in  the  fairy  story 
of  the  child  of  to-day.  It  is  the  voice  of  an  ancient 
far-off  past  that  echoes  from  the  lips  of  the  story- 
teller. The  words  '  once  upon  a  time '  open  up  a 
vague  retrospect  into  the  past,  and  the  child  gets 
its  first  indistinct  notions  of  history  in  this  way.  The 

1  Moral  Instruction  of  Children.     D.  Appleton  &  Co. 


FIRST   GRADE    STORIES  6 1 

stories  embody  the  tradition  of  the  childhood  of  man- 
kind. They  have  on  this  account  an  authority  all 
their  own,  not,  indeed,  that  of  literal  truth,  but  one 
derived  from  their  being  types  of  certain  feelings 
and  longings  which  belong  to  childhood  as  such. 
The  child,  as  it  listens  to  the  Marc  ken,  looks  up  with 
wide-opened  eyes  to  the  face  of  the  person  who  tells 
the  story,  and  thrills  responsive  as  the  touch  of  the 
earlier  life  of  the  race  thus  falls  upon  its  own.  Such  an 
effect,  of  course,  cannot  be  produced  by  cold  type. 
Tradition  is  a  living  thing  and  should  use  the  living 
voice  for  its  vehicle. 

"  My  second  coimsel  is  also  of  a  practical  nature, 
and  I  make  bold  to  say  quite  essential  to  the  suc- 
cessful use  of  the  stories.  Do  not  take  the  moral 
plum  out  of  the  fairy-tale  pudding,  but  let  the  child 
enjoy  it  as  a  whole.  Do  not  make  the  story  taper 
toward  a  single  point,  the  moral  point.  You  will 
squeeze  all  the  juice  out  of  it  if  you  try.  Do  not 
subordinate  the  purely  fanciful  and  naturalistic  ele- 
ments of  the  story,  such  as  the  love  of  mystery,  the 
passion  for  roving,  the  sense  of  fellowship  with  the 
animal  world,  in  order  to  fix  attention  solely  on 
the  moral  element.  On  the  contrary,  you  will  gain 
the  best  moral  effect  by  proceeding  in  exactly  the 
opposite  way.  Treat  the  moral  element  as  an  in- 
cident, emphasize  it  indeed,  but  incidentally.  Pluck 
it  as  a  wayside  flower.  How  often  does  it  happen 
that,  having  set  out  on  a  journey  with  a  distinct 


62  SPECIAL    METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING 

object  in  mind,  something  occurs  on  the  way  which 
we  had  not  foreseen,  but  which  in  the  end  leaves  the 
deepest  impression  on  the  mind.  .  .  . 

"The  value  of  the  fairy  tales  is  that  they  stimu- 
late the  imagination;  that  they  reflect  the  unbroken 
communion  of  human  life  with  the  life  universal,  as 
in  beasts,  fishes,  trees,  flowers,  and  stars;  and  that 
incidentally,  but  all  the  more  powerfully  on  that  ac- 
count, they  quicken  the  moral  sentiments. 

"  Let  us  avail  ourselves  freely  of  the  treasures 
which  are  thus  placed  at  our  disposal.  Let  us  wel- 
come das  Marchen  into  our  primary  course  of  moral 
training,  that  with  its  gentle  bands,  woven  of  *  morn- 
ing mist  and  morning  glory,'  it  may  help  to  lead  our 
children  into  bright  realms  of  the  ideal." 

A  selection  of  fairy  stories  suited  to  our  first  grade 
will  differ  from  a  similar  selection  for  foreign  schools. 
There  has  been  a  disposition  among  American 
teachers  for  several  years  to  appropriate  the  best 
of  these  stories  for  use  in  the  primary  schools.  In 
different  parts  of  the  country  skilful  primary  teachers 
have  been  experimenting  successfully  with  these 
materials.  There  are  many  schools  in  which  both 
teachers  and  pupils  have  taken  great  delight  in  them. 
The  effort  has  been  made  more  particularly  with  first 
grade  children,  the  aim  of  teachers  being  to  lead  cap- 
tive the  spontaneous  interest  of  children  from  their  first 
entrance  upon  school  tasks.  Some  of  the  stories  used 
at  the  first  may  seem  light  and  farcical,  but  experi- 


FIRST   GRADE   STORIES  63 

ments  with  children  are  a  better  test  than  the  precon- 
ceived notions  of  adults  who  may  have  forgotten  their 
early  childhood.  The  story  of  the  "  Four  Musicians," 
for  example,  is  a  favorite  with  the  children. 

At  the  risk  of  repetition,  and  to  emphasize  some 
points  of  special  importance,  we  will  review  briefly 
the  method  of  oral  treatment  and  the  use  of  the 
stories  in  early  primary  reading. 

The  children  have  no  knowledge  of  reading  or  per- 
haps of  letters.  The  story  is  told  with  spirit  by  the 
teacher,  no  book  being  used  in  the  class.  Question 
and  interchange  of  thought  between  pupil  and  teacher 
will  become  more  frequent  and  suggestive  as  the 
teacher  becomes  more  skilled  and  sympathetic  in  her 
treatment  of  the  story.  In  the  early  months  of  school 
life  the  aim  is  to  gain  the  attention  and  cooperation 
of  children  by  furnishing  abundant  food  for  thought. 
Children  are  required  or  at  least  encouraged  to  narrate 
the  story  or  a  part  of  it  in  the  class.  They  tell  it  at 
school  and  probably  at  home,  till  they  become  more 
and  more  absorbed  in  it.  Even  the  backward  or 
timid  child  gradually  acquires  courage  and  enjoys 
narrating  the  adventures  of  the  peas  in  the  pod  or 
those  of  the  animals  in  the  "  Four  Musicians." 

The  teacher  should  acquire  a  vivid  and  picturesque 
style  of  narrating,  persistently  weaving  into  the  story, 
by  query  and  suggestion,  the  previous  home  experi- 
ences of  the  children.  They  are  only  too  ready  to 
bring  out  these  treasures  at  the  call  of  the  teacher. 


64  SPECIAL   METHOD   IN  PRIMARY  READING 

Often  it  is  necessary  to  check  their  enthusiasm. 
There  is  a  need  not  simply  for  narrative  power,  but 
for  quick  insight  and  judgment,  so  as  to  bring  their 
thoughts  into  close  relation  to  the  incidents.  No- 
where in  all  the  schools  is  there  such  a  call  for  close 
and  motherly  sympathy.  The  gentle  compulsion  of 
kindness  is  required  to  inspire  the  timid  ones  with 
confidence.  For  some  of  them  are  slow  to  open  their 
delicate  thought  and  sensibility,  even  to  the  sunny 
atmosphere  of  a  pleasant  school. 

A  certain  amount  of  drill  in  reproduction  is  neces- 
sary, but  fortunately  the  stories  have  something  that 
bears  repetition  with  a  growing  interest.  Added  to 
this  is  the  desire  for  perfect  mastery,  and  thus  the 
stories  become  more  dear  with  familiarity. 

Incidentally,  there  should  be  emphasis  of  the  in- 
structive information  gathered  concerning  animals 
and  plants  that  are  actors  in  the  scenes.  The  com- 
monest things  of  the  house,  field,  and  garden  acquire 
a  new  and  lasting  interest.  Sometimes  the  teacher 
makes  provision  in  advance  of  the  story  for  a  deeper 
interest  in  the  plants  and  animals  that  are  to  appear. 
In  natural  science  lessons  she  may  take  occasion  to 
examine  the  pea  blossom,  or  the  animals  of  the  barn- 
yard, or  the  squirrel  or  birds  in  their  cages.  When, 
a  few  days  later,  the  story  touches  one  of  these  ani- 
mals, there  is  a  quick  response  from  the  children. 
This  relation  between  history  and  natural  science 
strengthens  both. 


FIRST   GRADE   STORIES  65 

Many  an  opportunity  should  be  given  for  the  pupils 
to  express  a  warm  sympathy  for  gentle  acts  of  kind- 
ness or  unselfishness.  The  happiness  that  even  a 
simple  flower  may  bring  to  a  home  is  a  contagious 
example.  Kindly  treatment  of  the  old  and  feeble, 
and  sympathy  for  the  innocent  and  helpless,  spring 
into  the  child's  own  thought.  The  fancy,  sympathy, 
and  interest  awakened  by  a  good  fairy  tale  make  it 
a  vehicle  by  which,  consciously  and  unconsciously, 
many  advantages  are  borne  home  to  pupils. 

Among  other  things,  it  opens  the  door  to  the  read- 
ing lesson ;  that  is,  to  the  beginning  efforts  in  master- 
ing and  using  the  symbols  of  written  language.  The 
same  story  which  all  have  learned  to  tell,  they  are 
now  about  to  learn  to  read  from  the  board.  One  or 
two  sentences  are  taken  directly  from  the  lips  of  the 
pupils  as  they  recall  the  story,  and  the  work  of  mas- 
tering symbols  is  begun  at  once  with  zest.  First  is 
the  clear  statement  of  some  vivid  thought  by  a  child, 
then  a  quick  association  of  this  thought  with  its  writ- 
ten symbols  on  the  board.  There  is  no  readier  way 
of  bringing  thought  and  form  into  firm  connection, 
that  is,  of  learning  to  read.  Keep  the  child's  fresh 
mental  judgment  and  the  written  form  clearly  before 
his  mind  till  the  two  are  wedded.  Let  the  thought 
run  back  and  forth  between  them  till  they  are  one. 

After  fixing  two  or  three  sentences  on  the  board, 
attention  is  directed  more  closely  to  the  single  words, 
and  a  rapid  drill  upon  those  in  the  sentence  is  fol- 


66  SPECIAL    METHOD    IN   PRIMARY   READING 

lowed  by  a  discovery  and  naming  of  them  in  miscel- 
laneous order.  Afterward  new  sentences  are  formed 
by  the  teacher  out  of  the  same  words,  written  on  the 
board,  and  read  by  the  children.  They  express  dif- 
ferent, and  perhaps  opposite  forms  of  thought,  and 
should  exercise  the  child's  sense  and  judgment  as 
well  as  his  memory  of  words.  An  energetic,  lively, 
and  successful  drill  of  this  kind  upon  sentences  drawn 
from  stories  has  been  so  often  witnessed,  that  its 
excellence  is  no  longer  a  matter  of  question.  These 
exercises  are  a  form  of  mental  activity  in  which  chil- 
dren delight  if  the  teacher's  manner  is  vigorous  and 
pleasant. 

When  the  mastery  of  new  word-forms  as  wholes  is 
fairly  complete,  the  analysis  may  go  a  step  farther. 
Some  new  word  in  the  lesson  may  be  taken  and  sepa- 
rated into  its  phonic  elements,  as  the  word  kill,  and 
new  words  formed  by  dropping  a  letter  and  prefixing 
letters  or  syllables,  as  ill,  till,  until,  mill,  rill,  etc.  The 
power  to  construct  new  words  out  of  old  materials 
should  be  cultivated  all  along  the  process  of  learning 
to  read. 

Still  other  school  activities  of  children  stand  in 
close  relation  to  the  fairy  tales.  They  are  encour- 
aged to  draw  the  objects  and  incidents  in  which 
the  story  abounds.  Though  rude  and  uncouth,  the 
drawings  still  often  surprise  us  with  their  truth  and 
suggestiveness.  The  sketches  reveal  the  content  of 
a  child's  mind  as  almost  nothing  else  —  his  miscon- 


FIRST   GRADE   STORIES  67 

ceptions,  his  vague  or  clearly  defined  notions.  They 
also  furnish  his  mental  and  physical  activities  an 
employment  exactly  suited  to  his  needs  and  wishes. 
The  power  to  use  good  English  and  to  express 
himself  clearly  and  fittingly  is  cultivated  from  the 
very  first.  While  this  merit  is  purely  incidental,  it 
is  none  the  less  valuable.  The  persistence  with 
which  bad  and  uncouth  words  and  phrases  are 
employed  by  children  in  our  common  school,  both  in 
oral  work  and  in  composition,  admonishes  us  to  begin 
early  to  eradicate  these  faults.  It  seems  often  as  if 
intermediate  and  grammar  grades  were  more  faulty 
and  wretched  in  their  use  of  English  than  primary 
grades.  But  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  early  and 
persistent  practice  in  the  best  forms  of  expression, 
especially  in  connection  with  interesting  and  appro- 
priate thought  matter,  will  greatly  aid  correctness, 
fluency,  and  confidence  in  speech.  There  is  also 
a  convincing  pedagogical  reason  why  children  in  the 
first  primary  should  be  held  to  the  best  models  of 
spoken  language.  They  enter  the  school  better  fur- 
nished with  oral  speech  than  with  a  knowledge  of 
any  school  study.  Their  home  experiences  have 
wrought  into  close  association  and  unity,  word  and 
thing.  So  intimate  and  living  is  the  relation  between 
word  and  thought  or  object,  that  a  child  really  does 
not  distinguish  between  them.  This  is  the  treasure 
with  which  he  enters  school,  and  it  should  not  be 
wrapped  up  in  a  napkin.  It  should  be  unrolled  at 


68  SPECIAL   METHOD   IN   PRIMARY    READING 

once  and  put  to  service.  Oral  speech  is  the  capital 
with  which  a  child  enters  the  business  of  education ; 
let  him  employ  it. 

A  retrospect  upon  the  various  forms  of  school  activ- 
ity which  spring,  in  practical  work,  from  the  use  of 
a  good  fairy  story,  reveals  how  many-sided  and 
inspiriting  are  its  influences.  Starting  out  with  a 
rich  content  of  thought  peculiarly  germane  to  child- 
ish interests,  it  calls  for  a  full  employment  of  the  lan- 
guage resources  already  possessed  by  the  children. 
In  the  effort  to  picture  out,  with  pencil  or  chalk,  his 
conceptions  of  the  story,  a  child  exercises  his  fanciful 
and  creative  wit,  as  well  as  the  muscles  of  arms  and 
eyes.  A  good  story  always  finds  its  setting  in  the 
midst  of  nature  or  society,  and  touches  up  with  a 
simple,  homely,  but  poetic  charm  the  commonest 
verities  of  human  experience.  The  appeal  to  the 
sensibility  and  moral  judgment  of  pupils  is  direct  and 
spontaneous,  because  of  the  interests  and  sympathies 
that  are  inherent  in  persons,  and  touch  directly  the 
childish  fancy.  And,  lastly,  the  irrepressible  tradi- 
tional demand  that  children  shall  learn  to  read,  is 
fairly  and  honestly  met  and  satisfied. 

It  is  not  claimed  that  fairy  tales  involve  the  sum 
total  of  primary  instruction,  but  they  are  an  illustra- 
tion of  how  rich  will  be  the  fruitage  of  our  educa- 
tional effort  if  we  consider  first  the  highest  needs  and 
interests  of  children,  and  allow  the  formal  arts  to 
drop  into  their  proper  subordination.  "  The  best  is 


FIRST   GRADE   STORIES  69 

good  enough  for  children,"  and  when  we  select  the 
best,  the  wide-reaching  connections  which  are  estab- 
lished between  studies  carry  us  a  long  step  toward 
the  now  much-bruited  correlation  and  concentration 
of  studies. 


BOOKS  OF  MATERIALS  FOR  TEACHERS 

Classic  Stories  for  the  Little  Ones.     Public  School  Publishing 

Co.,  Bloomington,  111. 

Grimm's  Fairy  Tales  (Wiltse).     Ginn  &  Co. 
German  Fairy  Tales  (Grimm).    Maynard,  Merrill,  &  Co. 
Grimm's  German  Household  Tales.     Houghton,  Mifflin,  &  Co. 
Stories  from  Hans  Andersen.     Houghton,  Mifflin,  &  Co. 
Andersen's  Fairy  Tales,  two  volumes,  Part  I  and  Part  II.     Ginn 

&  Co. 

Fairy  Stories  and  Fables.     American  Book  Co. 
Fables  and  Folk  Stories  (Scudder).     Houghton,  Mifflin,  &  Co. 
Rhymes  and  Jingles  (Dodge).     Scribner's  Sons. 
Fairy  Stories  for  Children  (Baldwin).     American  Book  Co. 
Songs  and  Stories.    University  Publishing  Co. 
Fairy  Life.     University  Publishing  Co. 
Six  Nursery  Classics  (O'Shea).     D.  C.  Heath  &  Co. 
Grimm's  Fairy  Tales.     Educational  Publishing  Co. 
A  Book  of  Nursery  Rhymes  (Welch).     D.  C.  Heath  &  Co. 
Verse  and  Prose  for  Beginners  in  Reading.     Houghton,  Mifflin, 

&Co. 

Heart  of  Oak,  No.  I.     B.C.  Heath  &  Co. 
Heart  of  Oak,  No.  II.    D.  C.  Heath  &  Co. 
The  Eugene  Field  Book.     Scribner's  Sons. 
Moral  Education  of  Children    (Adler).      D.   Appleton  &  Co. 

Chapter  VI.  on  Fairy  Tales. 
Literature  in   Schools   (Scudder).      Houghton,   Mifflin,  &  Co. 

Chapter  on  Nursery  Classics. 


7O  SPECIAL   METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING 


THE  FABLES 

No  group  of  stories  has  a  more  assured  place  in 
the  literature  for  children  than  the  ^Esop's  "  Fables." 
Some  of  the  commonest  have  been  expanded  into 
little  stories  which  are  presented  orally  to  children  in 
the  first  school  year,  as  "  The  Lion  and  the  Mouse," 
"  The  Ants  and  the  Grasshoppers,"  "  The  Dog  and  his 
Shadow,"  and  others.  They  are  so  simple  and  direct 
that  they  are  used  alongside  the  fairy  tales  for  the 
earliest  instruction  of  children. 

As  soon  as  children  have  acquired  the  rudiments  of 
reading  the  ^Escp's  "  Fables  "  are  commonly  used  in 
the  second  and  third  school  year  as  a  reading  book, 
and  all  the  early  reading  books  are  partly  made  up 
from  this  material. 

If  we  inquire  into  the  qualities  of  these  stories 
which  have  given  them  such  a  universal  acceptance, 
we  shall  find  that  they  contain  in  a  simple,  transparent 
form  a  good  share  of  the  world's  wisdom.  More 
recent  researches  indicate  that  they  originated  in 
India,  and  reached  Europe  through  Persia  and  Arabia, 
being  ascribed  to  ^Esop.  This  indicates  that  like 
most  early  literature  of  lasting  worth,  they  are  prod- 
ucts of  the  folk-mind  rather  than  of  a  single  writer, 
and  it  is  the  opinion  of  Adler  that  they  express  the 
ripened  wisdom  of  the  people  under  the  forms  of 
Oriental  despotism.  The  sad  and  hopeless  submis- 
sion to  a  stronger  power  expressed  by  some  of  the 


FIRST    GRADE    STORIES  7 1 

fables,  it  is  claimed,  unfits  them  for  use  in  our  freer 
life  to-day. 

There  are  certain  points  in  which  their  attractive- 
ness to  children,  is  clearly  manifest.  The  actors  in 
the  stories  are  usually  animals,  and  the  ready  inter- 
est and  sympathy  of  children  for  talking  animals 
are  at  once  appealed  to.  In  all  the  early  myths 
and  fairy  tales,  human  life  seems  to  merge  into  that 
of  the  animals,  as  in  "  Hiawatha,"  and  the  fables 
likewise  are  a  marked  expression  of  this  childlike 
tendency. 

Adler  says:  "The  question  may  be  asked  why 
fables  are  so  popular  with  boys.  I  should  say  be- 
cause schoolboy  society  reproduces  in  miniature,  to 
a  certain  extent,  the  social  conditions  which  are  re- 
flected in  the  fables.  Among  unregenerate  school- 
boys there  often  exists  a  kind  of  despotism,  not  the 
less  degrading  because  petty.  The  strong  are  pitted 
against  the  weak  —  witness  the  fagging  system  in 
English  schools  —  and  their  mutual  antagonism  pro- 
duces in  both  the  characteristic  vices  which  we  have 
noted  above."  A  literature  which  clearly  pictures 
these  relations  so  that  they  can  be  seen  objectively 
by  the  children  may  be  of  the  greatest  social  service 
in  education. 

Adler  says  further:  "The  psychological  study  of 
schoolboy  society  has  been  only  begun,  but  even  what 
lies  on  the  surface  will,  I  think,  bear  out  this  remark. 
Now  it  has  become  one  of  the  commonplaces  of 


72  SPECIAL   METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING 

educational  literature  that  the  individual  of  to-day 
must  pass  through  the  same  stages  of  evolution  as 
the  human  race  as  a  whole.  But  it  should  not  be 
forgotten  that  the  advance  of  civilization  depends  on 
two  conditions :  first,  that  the  course  of  evolution  be 
accelerated,  that  the  time  allowed  to  the  successive 
stages  be  shortened ;  and,  secondly,  that  the  unworthy 
and  degrading  elements  which  entered  into  the  pro- 
cess of  evolution  in  the  past,  and  at  the  time  were 
inseparable  from  it,  be  now  eliminated.  Thus  the 
fairy  tales  which  correspond  to  the  myth-making 
epoch  in  human  history  must  be  purged  of  the  dross 
of  superstition  which  still  adheres  to  them,  and  the 
fables  which  correspond  to  the  age  of  primitive 
despotisms  must  be  cleansed  of  the  immoral  elements 
they  still  embody." l 

The  peculiar  form  of  moral  teaching  in  the  "  Fables  " 
suits  them  especially  to  children.  A  single  trait  of 
conduct,  like  greediness  or  selfishness,  is  sharply 
outlined  in  the  story  and  its  results  made  plain.  "  We 
have  seen  nothing  finer  in  teaching  than  the  building 
up  of  these  little  stories  in  conversational  lessons  — 
first  to  illustrate  some  mental  or  moral  trait ;  then  to 
detach  the  idea  from  its  story  picture,  and  find  illus- 
trations for  it  in  some  other  act  or  incident.  And 
nothing  can  be  more  gratifying  as  a  result,  than, 
through  the  transparency  of  childish  hearts,  to  watch 
the  growth  of  right  conduct  from  the  impulses  derived 

iAdler,  Moral  Instruction  of  Children,  pp.  88-89. 


FIRST   GRADE   STORIES  73 

from  the  teaching ;  and  so  laying  the  foundations  of 
future  Tightness  of  character." l 

The  moral  ideas  inculcated  by  the  fables  are  usually 
of  a  practical,  worldly-wisdom  sort,  not  high  ideals  of 
moral  quality,  not  virtue  for  its  own  sake,  but  varied 
examples  of  the  results  of  rashness  and  folly.  This 
is,  perhaps,  one  reason  why  they  are  so  well  suited 
to  the  immature  moral  judgments  of  children. 

Adler  says :  "  Often  when  a  child  has  committed 
some  fault,  it  is  useful  to  refer  by  name  to  the  fable 
that  fits  it.  As,  when  a  boy  has  made  room  in  his 
seat  for  another,  and  the  other  crowds  him  out,  the 
mere  mention  of  the  fable  of  the  porcupine  is  a 
telling  rebuke;  or  the  fable  of  the  hawk  and  the 
pigeons  may  be  called  to  mind  when  a  boy  has 
been  guilty  of  mean  excuses.  On  the  same  principle 
that  angry  children  are  sometimes  taken  before  a 
mirror  to  show  them  how  ugly  they  look,  the  fable 
is  a  kind  of  mirror  for  the  vices  of  the  young." 
Again:  "The  peculiar  value  of  the  fables  is  that 
they  are  instantaneous  photographs  which  repro- 
duce, as  it  were,  in  a  single  flash  of  light,  some  one 
aspect  of  human  nature,  and  which,  excluding  every- 
thing else,  permit  the  attention  to  be  entirely  fixed 
on  that  one." 

But  the  value  of  the  fable  reaches  far  beyond 
childhood.  The  frequency  with  which  it  is  cited  in 
nearly  all  the  forms  of  literature,  and  its  aptness 

1  Introduction  to  Stickney's  ALso/s  Fables.    Ginn  &  Co. 


74  SPECIAL   METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING 

to  express  the  real  meaning  of  many  episodes  in 
real  life,  in  politics  and  social  events,  in  peace  and 
war,  show  the  universality  of  the  truth  it  embodies. 
A  story  which  engraves  a  truth,  as  it  were  with  a 
diamond  point,  upon  a  child's  mind,  a  truth  which 
will  swiftly  interpret  many  events  in  his  later  life, 
deserves  to  take  a  high  place  among  educative  in- 
fluences. 

FABLES  AND  NATURE  MYTHS 

Scudder's  Fables  and  Folk  Stories.     Houghton,  Mifflin,  &  Co. 
yEsop's  Fables  (Stickney).     Ginn  &  Co. 
Book  of  Legends  (Scudder) .     Houghton,  Mifflin,  &  Co. 
Stories  for  Children  (Lane).     The  American  Book  Co. 
A  Child's  Garden  of  Verses  (Stevenson).     Scribner's  Sons, 
-disop's  Fables.     Educational  Publishing  Co. 
The  Book  of  Nature  Myths  (Holbrook) .    Houghton,  Mifflin,  &  Co. 
The  Moral  Instruction  of  Children  (Adler),  Chapters  VII  and 
VIII.    D.  Appleton  &  Co. 


CHAPTER  IV 
SECOND  GRADE  STORIES 


IN  selecting  suitable  literature  for  children  of  the 
second  grade,  we  follow  in  the  steps  of  a  number 
of  distinguished  writers  and  teachers  and  choose  an 
English  classic — "  Robinson  Crusoe. ' '  Rousseau  gave 
this  book  his  unqualified  approval,  and  said  that  it 
would  be  the  first,  and,  for  a  time,  the  only  book 
that  Emile  should  read.  The  Herbartians  have  been 
using  it  a  number  of  years,  while  many  American 
teachers  have  employed  it  for  oral  work  hi  second 
grade,  in  a  short  school  edition.  In  one  sense,  the 
book  needs  no  introduction,  as  it  has  found  its  way 
into  every  nook  and  corner  of  the  world.  Originally 
a  story  for  adults,  it  has  reached  all,  and  illustrated 
Christmas  editions,  designed  even  for  children  from 
three  years  and  upward,  are  abundant.  To  the 
youth  of  all  lands,  it  has  been,  to  say  the  least,  a 
source  of  delight,  but  it  has  been  regarded  as  a 
book  for  the  family  and  home.  What  would  hap- 
pen should  the  schoolmaster  lay  his  hand  on  this 
treasure  and  desecrate  it  to  school  purposes!  We 

75 


?  SPECIAL    METHOD    IN   PRIMARY    READING 

desire  to  test  this  classic  work  on  the  side  of  its 
pedagogical  value  and  its  adaptation  to  the  uses  of 
regular  instruction.  If  it  is  really  unrivalled  as  a 
piece  of  children's  literature,  perhaps  it  has  also 
no  equal  for  school  purposes. 

In  making  the  transition  from  the  fairy  tale  to 
"  Robinson  Crusoe,"  an  interesting  difference  or  con- 
trast may  be  noticed.  Wilmann  says : l  "  *  Crusoe '  is 
at  once  simple,  and  plain,  and  fanciful;  to  be  sure, 
in  the  latter  case,  entirely  different  from  the  fairy 
tale.  In  the  fairy  story  the  fancy  seldom  pushes 
rudely  against  the  boundaries  of  the  real  world. 
But  otherwise  in  *  Crusoe.'  Here  it  is  the  practical 
fancy  that  is  aroused,  if  this  expression  appear  not 
contradictory.  What  is  Crusoe  to  do  now  ?  How  can 
he  help  himself  ?  What  means  can  he  invent  ?  Many 
of  the  proposals  of  the  children  will  have  to  be  re- 
jected. The  inexorable  'not  possible'  shoves  a  bolt 
before  the  door.  The  imagination  is  compelled  to 
limit  itself  to  the  task  of  combining  and  adjusting 
real  things.  The  compulsion  of  things  conditions 
the  progress  of  the  story.  *  Thoughts  dwell  together 
easily,  but  things  jostle  each  other  roughly  in  space.'" 

There  are  other  striking  differences  between  "  Cru- 
soe "  and  the  folk-lore  stories,  but  in  this  contrast  we 
are  now  chiefly  concerned.  After  reaching  the  island, 
he  is  checked  and  limited  at  every  step  by  the  physi- 
cal laws  imposed  by  nature.  Struggle  and  fret  as 

1  Wilmann,  Paedagogischc  Vortr&gc. 


SECOND   GRADE   STORIES  77 

he  may  against  these  limits,  he  becomes  at  last  a 
philosopher,  and  quietly  takes  up  the  struggle  for 
existence  under  those  inexorable  conditions.  The 
child  of  seven  or  eight  is  vaguely  acquainted  with 
many  of  the  simple  employments  of  the  household 
and  of  the  neighborhood.  Crusoe  also  had  a  vague 
memory  of  how  people  in  society  in  different  trades 
and  occupations  supply  the  necessaries  and  com- 
forts of  life.  Even  the  fairy  stories  give  many  hints 
of  this  kind  of  knowledge,  but  Robinson  Crusoe  is 
face  to  face  with  the  sour  facts.  He  is  cut  off  from 
help  and  left  to  his  own  resources.  The  interest  in 
the  story  is  in  seeing  how  he  will  shift  for  himself 
and  exercise  his  wits  to  insure  plenty  and  comfort. 
With  few  tools  and  on  a  barbarous  coast,  he  under- 
takes what  men  in  society,  by  mutual  exchange  and 
by  division  of  labor,  have  much  difficulty  in  perform- 
ing. Crusoe  becomes  a  carpenter,  a  baker  and  cook, 
a  hunter,  a  potter,  a  fisher,  a  farmer,  a  tailor,  a  boat- 
man, a  stock-raiser,  a  basket-maker,  a  shoemaker,  a 
tanner,  a  fruit-grower,  a  mason,  a  physician.  And 
not  only  so,  but  he  grapples  with  the  difficulties  of 
each  trade  or  occupation  in  a  bungling  manner  be- 
cause of  inexperience  and  lack  of  skill  and  exact 
knowledge.  He  is  an  experimenter  and  tester 
along  many  lines.  The  entire  absence  of  helpers 
centres  the  whole  interest  of  this  varied  struggle  in 
one  person.  It  is  to  be  remembered  that  Crusoe  is 
no  genius,  but  the  ordinary  boy  or  man.  He  has 


78  SPECIAL    METHOD    IN   PRIMARY   READING 

abundant  variety  of  needs  such  as  a  child  reared 
under  civilized  conditions  has  learned  to  feel.  The 
whole  range  of  activities,  usually  distributed  to  various 
classes  and  persons  in  society,  rests  now  upon  his 
single  shoulders.  If  he  were  an  expert  in  all  direc- 
tions, the  task  would  be  easier,  but  he  has  only  vague 
knowledge  and  scarcely  any  skill.  The  child,  there- 
fore, who  reads  this  story,  by  reason  of  the  slow, 
toilsome,  and  bungling  processes  of  Crusoe  in  meet- 
ing his  needs,  becomes  aware  how  difficult  and  labo- 
rious are  the  efforts  by  which  the  simple,  common 
needs  of  all  children  are  supplied. 

A  reference  to  the  different  trades  and  callings 
that  Crusoe  assumes  will  show  us  that  he  is  not  deal- 
ing with  rare  and  unusual  events,  but  with  the  com- 
mon, simple  employments  that  lie  at  the  basis  of 
society  in  all  parts  of  the  world.  The  carpenter,  the 
baker,  the  farmer,  the  shoemaker,  etc.,  are  at  work  in 
every  village  in  every  land.  Doubtless  this  is  one 
reason  why  the  story  acquires  such  a  hold  in  the 
most  diverse  countries.  The  Arab  or  the  Chinese 
boy,  the  German  or  American  child,  finds  the  story 
touching  the  ordinary  facts  of  his  own  surroundings. 
Though  the  story  finds  its  setting  in  a  far-away, 
lonely  island  in  tropical  seas,  Crusoe  is  daily  trying 
to  create  the  objects  and  conditions  of  his  old  home 
in  England.  But  these  are  the  same  objects  that 
surround  every  child  ;  and  therefore,  in  reading  "  Rob- 
inson Crusoe,"  the  pupil  is  making  an  exhaustive  and 


SECOND    GRADE   STORIES  79 

interesting  study  of  his  own  home.  The  presence  of 
a  tropical  vegetation  and  of  a  strange  climate  does 
not  seriously  impair  this  fact.  The  skill  of  a  great 
literary  artist  appears  in  his  power  to  create  a  situa- 
tion almost  devoid  of  common  comforts  and  bless- 
ings and  then  in  setting  his  hero  to  work  to  create 
them  by  single-handed  effort. 

It  will  hardly  be  questioned  that  the  study  of  the 
home  and  home  neighborhood  by  children  is  one  of 
the  large  and  prominent  problems  in  education.  Out 
of  their  social,  economic,  and  physical  environment 
children  get  the  most  important  lessons  of  life.  Not 
only  does  the  home  furnish  a  varied  fund  of  informa- 
tion that  enables  them  to  interpret  books,  and  people, 
and  institutions,  as  they  sooner  or  later  go  out  into 
the  world,  but  all  the  facts  gathered  by  experience 
and  reading  in  distant  fields  must  flow  back  again  to 
give  deeper  meaning  to  the  labors  and  duties  which 
surround  each  citizen  in  his  own  home.  But  society 
with  its  commerce,  education,  and  industries,  is  an 
exceedingly  complex  affair.  The  child  knows  not 
where  to  begin  to  unravel  this  endless  machinery  of 
forms  and  institutions.  In  a  sense  he  must  get  away 
from  or  disentangle  himself  from  his  surroundings  in 
order  to  understand  them.  There  are  no  complex 
conditions  surrounding  Crusoe,  and  he  takes  up  the 
labors  of  the  common  trades  in  a  simple  and  primi- 
tive manner.  Physical  and  mental  effort  are  de- 
manded at  every  step,  from  Crusoe  and  from  the 


8O  SPECIAL  METHOD   IN  PRIMARY  READING 

children.  Many  of  his  efforts  involve  repeated  fail- 
ure, as  in  making  pottery,  in  building  a  boat,  while 
some  things  that  he  undertakes  with  painful  toil 
never  attain  success.  The  lesson  of  toil  and  hard- 
ship connected  with  the  simple  industries  is  one  of 
great  moment  to  children.  Our  whole  social  fabric 
is  based  on  these  toils,  and  it  is  one  of  the  best 
results  of  a  sound  education  to  realize  the  place  and 
importance  of  hard  work. 

It  scarcely  needs  to  be  pointed  out  that  Crusoe 
typifies  a  long  period  of  man's  early  history,  the  age 
when  men  were  learning  the  rudiments  of  civilization 
by  taking  up  the  toils  of  the  blacksmith,  the  agri- 
culturist, the  builder,  the  domesticator  of  animals  and 
plants.  Men  emerged  from  barbarism  as  they  slowly 
and  painfully  gained  the  mastery  over  the  resources 
of  nature.  Crusoe  is  a  sort  of  universal  man,  em- 
bodying in  his  single  effort  that  upward  movement 
of  men  which  has  steadily  carried  them  to  the  higher 
levels  of  progress.  It  has  been  said  with  some  truth 
that  Robinson  Crusoe  is  a  philosophy  of  history. 
But  we  scarcely  need  such  a  high-sounding  name. 
To  the  child  he  is  a  very  concrete,  individual  man, 
with  very  simple  and  interesting  duties. 

In  a  second  point  the  author  of  "  Robinson  Crusoe  " 
shows  himself  a  literary  master.  There  is  an  intense 
and  naive  realism  in  his  story.  Even  if  one  were  so 
disposed,  it  would  require  a  strong  effort  to  break 
loose  from  the  feeling  that  we  are  in  the  presence  of 


SECOND   GRADE   STORIES  8 1 

real  experiences.  There  is  a  quiet  but  irresistible 
assumption  of  unvarnished  and  even  disagreeable 
fact  in  the  narrative.  But  it  is  useless  to  describe 
the  style  of  a  book  so  familiar.  Its  power  over 
youthful  fancy  and  feeling  has  been  too  often  experi- 
enced to  be  doubted.  The  vivid  interest  which  the 
book  awakens  is  certain  to  carry  home  whatever  les- 
sons it  may  teach  with  added  force.  So  great  is  this 
influence  that  boys  sometimes  imitate  the  efforts  of 
Crusoe  by  making  caves,  building  ovens,  and  assum- 
ing a  style  of  dress  and  living  that  approximates 
Crusoe's  state.  This  supplies  to  teachers  a  hint  of 
some  value.  The  story  of  Crusoe  should  lead  to 
excursions  into  the  home  neighborhood  for  the  pur- 
pose of  a  closer  examination  of  the  trades  and  occu- 
pations there  represented.  An  imitation  of  his  labors 
may  also  be  encouraged.  The  effort  to  mould  and 
bake  vessels  from  potter's  clay,  the  platting  of  bas- 
kets from  willow  withes,  the  use  of  tools  in  making 
boxes  or  tables  may  be  attempted  far  enough  to  dis- 
cover how  lacking  in  practical  ability  the  children 
are.  This  will  certainly  teach  them  greater  respect 
for  manual  skill. 

From  the  previous  discussion  it  might  appear  that 
we  regard  the  story  of  Crusoe  as  technological  and 
industrial  rather  than  moral.  But  it  would  be  a  mis- 
take to  suppose  that  a  book  is  not  moral  because  it  is 
not  perpetually  dispensing  moral  platitudes.  Most 
men's  lives  are  mainly  industrial.  The  display  of 


82  SPECIAL    METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING 

moral  qualities  is  only  occasional  and  incidental. 
The  development  of  moral  character  is  coincident 
with  the  labors  and  experiences  of  life  and  springs 
out  of  them,  being  manifested  by  the  spirit  with 
which  one  acts  toward  his  fellow-men.  But  Crusoe 
was  alone  on  his  island,  and  there  might  seem  to  be 
no  opportunity  to  be  moral  in  relation  to  others.  So- 
ciety, to  be  sure,  was  conspicuous  by  its  absence. 
But  the  intense  longing  with  which  he  thought  of 
the  home  and  companionships  lost  is  perhaps  the 
strongest  sentiment  in  the  book.  His  loneliness 
brings  out  most  vividly  his  true  relation  to  home  and 
friends. 

His  early  life,  till  the  shipwreck,  was  that  of  a  way- 
ward and  reckless  youth,  disobedient  to  parents  and 
seemingly  without  moral  scruples.  Even  during  the 
first  months  upon  the  island  there  appears  little  moral 
change  or  betterment.  But  slowly  the  bitter  experi- 
ences of  his  lonely  life  sober  him.  He  finds  a  Bible, 
and  a  fit  of  sickness  reveals  the  distresses  that  may 
lie  before  him.  When  once  the  change  has  set  in,  it 
is  rapid  and  thorough.  He  becomes  devout,  he  longs 
to  return  to  his  parents  and  atone  for  his  faults.  A 
complete  reformation  of  his  moral  disposition  is 
effected.  If  one  will  take  the  pains  to  read  the 
original  "  Robinson  Crusoe  "  he  will  find  it  surpris- 
ingly serious  and  moral  in  its  tone.  He  devotes 
much  time  to  soliloquizing  on  the  distresses  of  his 
condition  and  upon  the  causes  which  have  brought 


SECOND   GRADE   STORIES  83 

him  to  misery.  He  diagnoses  his  case  with  an 
amount  of  detail  that  must  be  tedious  to  children. 
The  fact  that  these  parts  of  the  book  often  leave 
little  direct  impression  upon  children  is  proof  that 
they  are  chiefly  engaged  with  the  adventure  and 
physical  embarrassments  of  Crusoe.  For  the  present 
it  is  sufficient  to  observe  that  the  story  is  deeply  and 
intensely  moral  both  in  its  spirit  and  in  the  changes 
described  in  "  Crusoe." 

We  are  next  led  to  inquire  whether  the  industrial 
and  moral  lessons  contained  in  this  story  are  likely  to 
be  extracted  from  it  by  a  boy  or  girl  who  reads  it 
alone,  without  the  aid  of  a  teacher.  Most  young 
readers  of  "  Crusoe  "  are  carried  along  by  the  inter- 
esting adventure.  It  is  a  very  surprising  and  enter- 
taining story.  But  children  even  less  than  adults  are 
inclined  to  go  deeper  than  the  surface  and  draw  up 
hidden  treasures.  De  Foe's  work  is  a  piece  of  classic 
literature.  But  few  people  are  inclined  to  get  at  the 
deeper  meaning  and  spirit  of  a  classical  masterpiece 
unless  they  go  through  it  in  companionship  with  a 
teacher  who  is  gifted  to  disclose  its  better  meaning. 
This  is  true  of  any  classical  product  we  might  men- 
tion. It  should  be  the  peculiar  function  of  the 
school  to  cultivate  a  taste,  and  an  appreciative  taste, 
for  the  best  literature ;  not  by  leaving  it  to  the  hap- 
hazard home  reading  of  pupils,  but  by  selecting  the 
best  things  adapted  to  the  minds  of  children  and  then 
employing  true  teaching  skill  to  bring  these  treas- 


84  SPECIAL   METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING 

ures  close  to  the  hearts  and  sympathies  of  children. 
Many  young  people  do  not  read  "  Robinson  Crusoe  "  at 
all ;  many  others  do  not  appreciate  its  better  phases. 
The  school  will  much  improve  its  work  by  taking 
for  its  own  this  best  of  children's  stories,  and  by 
extending  and  deepening  the  children's  appreciation 
of  a  classic. 

The  story  of  Robinson  Crusoe  is  made  by  the 
Herbartians  the  nucleus  for  the  concentration  of 
studies  in  the  second  year.  This  importance  is 
given  to  it  on  account  of  its  strong  moral  tone  and 
because  of  its  universal  typical  character  in  man's 
development.  Without  attempting  a  solution  of  the 
problem  of  concentration  at  this  juncture,  we  should 
at  least  observe  the  relations  of  this  story  to  the 
other  studies.  Wilmann  says:  "The  everywhere 
and  nowhere  of  the  fairy  tale  gives  place  to  the 
first  geographical  limitations.  The  continents,  the 
chief  countries  of  Europe,  come  up,  besides  a  series 
of  geographical  concepts  such  as  island,  coast,  bay, 
river,  hill,  mountain,  sea,  etc.  The  difference  in 
climate  is  surprising.  Crusoe  fears  the  winter  and 
prepares  for  it,  but  his  fear  is  needless,  for  no  winter 
reaches  his  island."  We  have  already  observed  its 
instructive  treatment  of  the  common  occupations 
which  prepare  for  later  geographical  study,  as  well 
as  for  natural  science. 

Many  plants  and  animals  are  brought  to  notice 
which  would  furnish  a  good  beginning  for  natural 


SECOND    GRADE   STORIES  85 

science  lessons.  It  is  advisable,  however,  to  study 
rather  those  home  animals  and  plants  which  corre- 
spond best  to  the  tropical  products  or  animals  in  the 
lessons.  Tropical  fruits,  the  parrot,  and  the  goat  we 
often  meet  at  home,  but  in  addition,  the  sheep,  the 
ox,  the  mocking-bird,  the  woodpecker,  our  native 
fruits  and  grains,  and  the  fish,  turtles,  and  minerals 
of  the  home,  may  well  be  suggested  and  studied  in 
science  lessons  parallel  with  the  life  of  Crusoe. 

Following  upon  the  oral  treatment  and  discussion 
of  "  Robinson  Crusoe  "  the  children  are  easily  led  to 
like  efforts  at  construction,  as,  for  instance,  the  mak- 
ing of  a  raft,  the  building  of  the  cave  and  stockade, 
the  making  of  chairs  and  tables,  the  moulding  of  jars 
and  kettles  out  of  clay,  the  weaving  of  baskets,  the 
preparation  and  cooking  of  foods,  the  planting  of 
grains,  the  construction  of  an  oven  or  house,  boat 
building,  and  other  labors  of  Crusoe  in  providing  for 
his  wants. 

It  is  quite  customary  now  in  second  grade  to  set 
the  children  to  work  in  these  efforts  to  solve  Crusoe's 
problems,  so  that  they,  by  working  with  actual 
materials,  may  realize  more  fully  the  difficulties  and 
trials  to  which  he  was  subjected.  In  close  connec- 
tion with  these  constructive  efforts  are  the  drawings 
of  the  scenes  of  the  story,  such  as  the  shipwreck, 
the  stockade,  the  boat,  the  map  of  the  island,  and 
some  of  the  later  events  of  the  story.  A  still  further 
means  of  giving  reality  to  the  events  is  to  dramatize 


86  SPECIAL   METHOD    IN   PRIMARY   READING 

some  of  the  scenes  between  Friday  and  Crusoe,  and 
to  dress  and  equip  these  and  other  persons  in  the 
story  in  fitting  manner.  The  children  gladly  enter 
into  such  dramatic  action.  These  various  forms  of 
drawing,  action,  and  constructive  work  are  in  close 
connection  with  the  home  studies  of  industries  and 
occupations,  —  farming,  gardening,  carpenter  and 
blacksmith  shops,  weaving,  cooking,  bakeries,  and  ex- 
cursions to  shops  —  which  follow  the  Crusoe  story 
in  the  study  of  home  geography  in  the  third  grade. 

Although  the  story  should  be  given  and  discussed 
orally,  the  children  should  also  read  it  later  as  a  part 
of  the  regular  reading  exercise  of  the  course. 
Instead  of  suffering  from  this  repetition,  their  inter- 
est will  only  be  increased.  Classical  products  usu- 
ally gain  by  repetition.  The  facts  are  brought  out 
more  clearly  and  the  deeper  meaning  is  perceived. 
To  have  the  oral  treatment  of  a  story  precede  its 
reading  by  some  weeks  or  months  produces  an  excel- 
lent effect  upon  the  style  of  the  reading.  The 
thought  being 'familiar,  and  the  interest  strong,  the 
expression  will  be  vigorous  and  natural.  Children 
take  a  pride  in  reading  a  story  which  they  at  first 
must  receive  orally  for  lack  of  reading  power. 

The  same  advantageous  drill  in  the  use  of  good 
English  accrues  to  the  Crusoe  story  that  was  ob- 
served in  the  fairy  tales.  There  is  abundant  oppor- 
tunity for  oral  narrative  and  description. 

The  use  of  the  pencil  and  chalk  in  graphic  repre- 


SECOND    GRADE   STORIES  8? 

sentation  should  be  encouraged  both  in  teacher  and 
in  pupils.  Thus  the  eye  becomes  more  accurate  in 
observation  and  the  hand  more  free  and  facile  in 
tracing  the  outlines  of  the  interesting  forms  studied. 
The  use  of  tools  and  materials  in  construction  gives 
ideas  an  anchorage,  not  only  in  the  brain,  but  even 
in  the  nerves  and  muscles. 

In  thus  glancing  over  the  field  we  discover  the 
same  many-sided  and  intimate  relation  with  other 
school  studies,  as  in  the  previous  grade.  In  fact, 
"  Crusoe  "  is  the  first  extended  classical  masterpiece 
which  is  presented  to  the  children  as  a  whole.  Such 
parts  of  the  story  as  are  of  most  pedagogical  value 
should  be  simplified  and  woven  together  into  a  con- 
tinuous narrative.  That  part  of  the  story  which  pre- 
cedes the  shipwreck  may  be  reduced  to  a  few 
paragraphs  which  bring  out  clearly  his  early  home 
surroundings,  his  disobedience  and  the  desertion  of 
his  parents,  and  the  voyage  which  led  to  his  lonely 
life  upon  the  island.  The  period  embraced  in  his 
companionless  labors  and  experiences  constitutes  the 
important  part  for  school  uses.  A  few  of  the  more 
important  episodes  following  the  capture  of  Friday 
and  his  return  home  may  be  briefly  told.  We  deem  it 
a  long  step  forward  to  get  some  of  our  great  classical 
masterpieces  firmly  embedded  in  the  early  years  of 
our  school  course.  It  will  contribute  almost  as  much 
to  the  culture  and  stimulation  of  teachers  as  of  pupils. 

The  method  of  handling  this  narrative  before  the 


88  SPECIAL    METHOD    IN   PRIMARY   READING 

class  will  be  similar  to  that  of  the  fairy  tales.  A 
simple  and  vivid  recital  of  the  facts,  with  frequent 
questions  and  discussions,  so  as  to  draw  the  story 
closer  to  the  child's  own  thought  and  experience, 
should  be  made  by  the  teacher.  Much  skill  in  illus- 
trative device,  in  graphic  description,  in  diagram  or 
drawing,  in  the  appeal  to  the  sense  experiences  of 
the  pupils,  is  in  demand.  The  excursion  to  places  of 
interest  in  the  neighborhood  suggested  by  the  story 
begins  to  be  an  important  factor  of  the  school  exer- 
cises. As  children  grow  older  they  acquire  skill  and 
confidence  in  oral  narrative,  and  should  be  held  to 
greater  independence  in  oral  reproductions. 

One  of  the  best  school  editions  of  "  Robinson 
Crusoe  "  is  published  by  Ginn  &  Co. 

A  simple  edition  for  second  grade  is  published  by 
the  Public  School  Publishing  Co. 

The  teacher  should  be  supplied  with  one  of  the 
larger,  fuller  editions  of  "  Robinson  Crusoe,"  like  that 
of  Houghton,  Mifflin,  &  Co.,  in  the  Riverside  Litera- 
ture Series.  It  furnishes  a  much  fuller  detail  of 
knowledge  for  the  teacher's  use.  It  will  also  be  of 
great  advantage  for  classroom  use  to  possess  an  illus- 
trated edition  like  that  of  George  Routledge  &  Sons. 

The  full  treatment  of  this  story,  first  in  simple, 
oral  narrative,  later  by  its  use  as  a  reading  book, 
and  later  still  by  the  child  reading  the  complete 
edition  for  himself  in  private,  illustrates  the  intensive 
concentration  of  thought  and  constructive  activity 


SECOND    GRADE   STORIES  89 

upon  a  great  piece  of  literature  as  opposed  to  a  loose 
and  superficial  treatment.  Such  a  piece  of  work 
should  remain  for  life  a  source  of  deeper  thought, 
feeling,  and  experience, 

OTHER  EDITIONS 

Life  and  Adventures  of  Robinson  Crusoe.    American  Book  Co. 

Robinson  Crusoe.     Lee  and  Shepard. 

Robinson  Crusoe  for  Youngest  Readers.     Educational  Pub.  Co. 

Robinson  Crusoe.     University  Publishing  Co. 

De  Foe's  Robinson  Crusoe  (Hale).     Ginn  &  Co. 

De  Foe's  Robinson  Crusoe.    Maynard,  Merrill,  &  Co. 


The  story  of  Hiawatha  has  been  much  used  for 
oral  treatment  in  primary  grades,  and  as  a  basis  for 
exercises  in  learning  to  read.  Later  the  complete 
poem  has  been  much  read  in  third,  fourth,  or  fifth 
grade  as  a  piece  of  choice  literature. 

A  story  which  is  growing  so  rapidly  in  favor  with 
primary  teachers  may  explain  our  effort  to  deter- 
mine its  educational  value. 

That  the  story  begins  with  the  early  childhood  of 
Hiawatha  and  describes  his  home  and  early  training 
at  the  feet  of  Nokomis,  is  at  least  one  point  in  its 

favor. 

By  the  shores  of  Gitche  Gumee, 
By  the  shining  Big-Sea-Water, 
Stood  the  wigwam  of  Nokomis, 
Daughter  of  the  Moon,  Nokomis. 
Dark  behind  it  rose  the  forest, 


QO  SPECIAL    METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING 

Rose  the  black  and  gloomy  pine-trees, 
Rose  the  firs  with  cones  upon  them ; 
Bright  before  it  beat  the  water, 
Beat  the  clear  and  sunny  water, 
Beat  thelshining  Big-Sea-Water. 
There  the  wrinkled,  old  Nokomis 
Nursed  the  little  Hiawatha, 
Rocked  him  in  his  linden  cradle, 
Bedded  soft  in  moss  and  rushes, 
Safely  bound  with  reindeer  sinews. 

The  traditions  and  stories  he  learned  from  the  lips 
of  Nokomis  will  remind  children  of  their  own  home 
life,  while  his  companionship  with  birds  and  animals 
will  touch  them  in  a  sympathetic  place. 

Then  the  little  Hiawatha 
Learned  of  every  bird  its  language, 
Learned  their  names  and  all  their  secrets, 
How  they  built  their  nests  in  Summer, 
Where  they  hid  themselves  in  Winter, 
Talked  with  them  whene'er  he  met  them, 
Called  them  "Hiawatha's  Chickens." 

The  games  and  exercises  of  his  youth  will  remind 
them  of  their  own  sports  and  introduce  them  to  Indian 
life.  This  home  of  Hiawatha,  and  the  description  of 
his  childhood,  are  a  happy  introduction  to  the  sim- 
ple surroundings  of  Indian  life  on  the  shores  of  the 
northern  sea. 

Primitive  Indian  modes  of  life,  traditions  and  myths, 
appeal  naturally  to  children,  and  the  whole  story  has 
this  setting  of  early  simplicity  which  adapts  it  in 
many  ways  to  child  study.  The  Indian  nature  myths, 


SECOND   GRADE   STORIES  91 

which  in  themselves  are  attractive,  are  here  woven 
into  a  connected  series  by  their  relation  to  Hiawatha 
in  the  training  of  his  childhood  and  in  the  exploits  of 
his  manhood. 

The  number  of  pure  fairy  tales  scattered  through 
the  story  adapts  it  especially  for  young  children, 
while  the  descriptions  of  home  customs,  feasts,  wed- 
dings, merrymaking,  and  games,  show  the  happier 
side  of  their  life. 

Ye  who  love  a  nation's  legends, 
Love  the  ballads  of  a  people, 
That  like  voices  from  afar  off 
Call  to  us  to  pause  and  listen, 
Speak  in  tones  so  plain  and  childlike, 
Scarcely  can  the  ear  distinguish 
Whether  they  are  sung  or  spoken ;  — 
Listen  to  this  Indian  Legend, 
To  this  song  of  Hiawatha  ! 
Ye  whose  hearts  are  fresh  and  simple, 
Who  have  faith  in  God  and  Nature, 
Who  believe,  that  in  all  ages 
Every  human  heart  is  human, 
That  in  even  savage  bosoms 
There  are  longings,  yearnings,  strivings 
For  the  good  they  comprehend  not, 
That  the  feeble  hands  and  helpless, 
Groping  blindly  in  the  darkness, 
Touch  God's  right  hand  in  that  darkness, 
And  are  lifted  up  and  strengthened ;  — 
Listen  to  this  simple  story, 
To  this  Song  of  Hiawatha  ! 

The  description  of  husking  time  is  such  a  pleasing 
scene,  while  the  picture  writing  of  the  Indians,  their 


92  SPECIAL   METHOD    IN   PRIMARY   READING 

totems  and  rude  drawings,  are  in  harmony  with  their 
traditions  and  religion. 

On  the  border  of  the  forest, 
Underneath  the  fragrant  pine-trees, 
Sat  the  old  men  and  the  warriors 
Smoking  in  the  pleasant  shadow. 
In  uninterrupted  silence 
Looked  they  at  the  gamesome  labor 
Of  the  young  men  and  the  women; 
Listened  to  their  noisy  talking, 
To  their  laughter  and  their  singing, 
Heard  them  chattering  like  the  magpies, 
Heard  them  laughing  like  the  blue  jays, 
Heard  them  singing  like  the  robins. 
And  whene'er  some  lucky  maiden 
Found  a  red  ear  in  the  husking, 
Found  a  maize-ear  red  as  blood  is, 
"Nushka!"  cried  they  all  together, 
"  Nushka !  you  shall  have  a  sweetheart, 
You  shall  have  a  handsome  husband!" 
"  Ugh ! "  the  old  men  all  responded 
From  their  seats  beneath  the  pine-trees. 

And  the  Jossakeeds,  the  Prophets, 
The  Wabenos,  the  Magicians, 
And  the  Medicine-men,  the  Medas, 
Painted  upon  bark  and  deer-skin 
Figures  for  the  songs  they  chanted, 
For  each  song  a  separate  symbol, 
Figures  mystical  and  awful, 
Figures  strange  and  brightly  colored ; 
And  each  figure  had  its  meaning, 
Each  some  magic  song  suggested. 

One  of  the  most  striking  features  of  this  story  is 
its  setting  in  nature.     More  than  any  other  piece  of 


SECOND   GRADE   STORIES  93 

literature  now  used  in  the  school,  it  is  redolent  of 
fields  and  forest. 

Should  you  ask  me,  whence  these  stories, 

Whence  these  legends  and  traditions, 

With  the  odors  of  the  forest, 

With  the  dew  and  damp  of  meadows, 

With  the  curling  smoke  of  wigwams, 

With  the  rushing  of  great  rivers, 

With  their  frequent  repetitions, 

And  their  wild  reverberations, 

As  of  thunder  in  the  mountains? 

I  should  answer,  I  should  tell  you, 

"  From  the  forests  and  the  prairies, 
From  the  great  lakes  of  the  Northland, 
From  the  land  of  the  Ojibways, 
From  the  land  of  the  Dacotahs, 
From  the  mountains,  moors,  and  fenlands, 
Where  the  heron,  the  Shuh-shuh-gah, 
Feeds  among  the  reeds  and  rushes." 

Should  you  ask  where  Nawadaha 
Found  these  songs,  so  wild  and  wayward, 
Found  these  legends  and  traditions, 
I  should  answer,  I  should  tell  you, 

u  In  the  birds'-nests  of  the  forest, 
In  the  lodges  of  the  beaver, 
In  the  hoof-prints  of  the  bison, 
In  the  eyry  of  the  eagle ! 

All  the  wild-fowl  sang  them  to  him, 
In  the  moorlands  and  the  fenlands, 
In  the  melancholy  marshes  ; 
Chetowaik,  the  plover,  sang  them, 
Mahng,  the  loon,  the  wild-goose,  Wawa, 
The  blue  heron,  the  Shuh-shuh-gah, 
And  the  grouse,  the  Mushkodasa!" 


94  SPECIAL   METHOD   IN  PRIMARY  READING 

This  description  of  primitive  man  is  as  complete 
an  absorption  into  his  natural  surroundings  as  is 
possible.  His  food  and  clothing,  his  tents  and  boats, 
his  weapons  and  war  gear,  are  drawn  directly  from 
nature's  first  supplies,  and  man,  in  this  case,  seems 
almost  a  part  of  nature,  so  completely  are  his 
thoughts  and  activities  determined  and  colored  by  his 
environment.  Like  the  animals,  in  their  protective 
coloring,  he  becomes  an  undistinguishable  part  of  his 
surroundings.  His  nature  myths  and  superstitions 
are  but  phases  and  expressions  of  the  contact  of  his 
crude  mind  with  forces  and  objects  in  nature.  In 
this  respect  there  are  many  interesting  suggestions 
of  similar  interpretations  among  the  Norse  and 
Greek  mythologies. 

The  close  and  friendly  contact  of  Hiawatha  with 
trees  and  animals,  his  companionship  with  the 
squirrel,  the  woodpecker,  and  the  beaver,  his  talking 
acquaintance  with  trees  of  the  forest,  with  the  fishes 
in  the  Big-Sea-Water,  and  with  the  masters  of  the 
winds,  the  storm,  and  the  thunder,  make  him  an  in- 
teresting guide  for  the  children  among  the  realms  of 

nature. 

Ye  who  love  the  haunts  of  nature, 
Love  the  sunshine  of  the  meadow, 
Love  the  shadow  of  the  forest, 
Love  the  wind  among  the  branches, 
And  the  rain-shower  and  the  snow-storm, 
And  the  rushing  of  great  rivers 
Through  their  palisades  of  pine-trees, 
And  the  thunder  in  the  mountains, 


SECOND   GRADE   STORIES  95 

Whose  innumerable  echoes 
Flap  like  eagles  in  their  eyries ;  — 
Listen  to  these  wild  traditions, 
To  this  Song  of  Hiawatha! 

A  happy,  sympathetic  love  for  the  sights  and 
sounds  in  nature  is  a  fortunate  beginning  of  nature 
lore.  The  imaginative  interpretations  are  common 
to  all  the  early  races  and  in  full  harmony  with  the 
temper  of  childhood.  Even  from  the  standpoint 
of  nature  study,  this  early  poetic  joy  in  nature  de- 
scriptions is  profitable.  The  matter-of-fact,  analytic 
study  of  natural  science  in  succeeding  years  need  not 
begrudge  the  children  this  happiness,  this  interpre- 
tative play  of  the  imagination,  this  music  of  field  and 
forest.  In  early  childhood,  nature  and  poetry  are 
one,  and  as  Lowell  says,  "  Let  us  not  go  about  to 
make  life  duller  than  it  is." 

The  simplicity  and  beauty  of  the  language  and 
figure  of  speech  make  many  parts  of  this  poem 
especially  appropriate  for  children. 

Young  and  beautiful  was  Wabun ; 
He  it  was  who  brought  the  morning, 
He  it  was  whose  silver  arrows 
Chased  the  dark  o'er  hill  and  valley ; 
He  it  was  whose  cheeks  were  painted 
With  the  brightest  streaks-  of  crimson, 
And  whose  voice  awoke  the  village, 
Called  the  deer,  and  called  the  hunter. 

He  meanwhile  sat  weary  waiting 
For  the  coming  of  Mondamin, 


96  SPECIAL   METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING 

Till  the  shadows,  pointing  eastward, 
Lengthened  over  field  and  forest, 
Till  the  sun  dropped  from  the  heaven, 
Floating  on  the  waters  westward, 
As  a  red  leaf  in  the  Autumn 
Falls  and  floats  upon  the  water, 
Falls  and  sinks  into  its  bosom. 

And  the  pleasant  water-courses, 

You  could  trace  them  through  the  valley, 

By  the  rushing  in  the  Spring-time, 

By  the  alders  in  the  Summer. 

By  the  white  fog  in  the  Autumn, 

By  the  black  line  in  the  Winter. 

The  simple  music  and  rhythm  of  the  poetic  form 
is  so  delightful  to  children  that  they  absorb  whole 
passages  into  their  memory  without  conscious  effort. 
The  mere  re-reading  of  parts  of  the  poem  to  little 
children  under  six  years  will  often  produce  this 
happy  result.  A  little  girl  of  three  years  picked  up, 
among  others,  this  passage :  — 

Dark  behind  it  rose  the  forest, 
Rose  the  black  and  gloomy  pine-trees, 
Rose  the  firs  with  cones  upon  them ; 
Bright  before  it  beat  the  water, 
Beat  the  clear  and  sunny  water, 
Beat  the  shining  Big-Sea-Water. 

The  repetitions  of  the  same  or  similar  passages,  so 
common  throughout  the  poem,  is  a  successful  appeal 
to  children's  favor.  It  gives  the  story  a  sort  of 
Mother  Goose  flavor  which  is  delightful. 


SECOND   GRADE   STORIES  97 

While  the  story  centres  in  Hiawatha,  it  has  a 
variety  of  interesting  personalities,  giving  expression 
to  the  striking  features  of  this  primitive  society. 
Hiawatha's  loved  ones,  Minnehaha  and  old  Nokomis, 
stand  first,  and  his  chosen  friends  are  next. 

Two  good  friends  had  Hiawatha, 
Singled  out  from  all  the  others, 
Bound  to  him  in  closest  union, 
And  to  whom  he  gave  the  right  hand 
Of  his  heart  in  joy  and  sorrow ; 
Chibiabos,  the  musician, 
And  the  very  strong  man,  Kwasind. 

And  these  two,  as  I  have  told  you, 
Were  the  friends  of  Hiawatha, 
Chibiabos,  the  musician, 
And  the  very  strong  man,  Kwasind. 
Long  they  lived  in  peace  together, 
Spake  with  naked  hearts  together, 
Pondering  much  and  much  contriving 
How  the  tribes  of  men  might  prosper. 

In  connection  with  these  persons  is  a  most  pleas- 
ing series  of  adventures,  bringing  to  notice  those 
heroic  qualities  which  children  love  to  witness.  The 
very  strong  man,  Kwasind,  is  a  fitting  companion  in 
their  thoughts  to  Samson  and  Hercules ;  and  Chibia- 

bos, 

He  the  best  of  all  musicians, 
He  the  sweetest  of  all  singers, 

has    had    many    a    prototype    since    the    days    of 
Orpheus. 


98  SPECIAL   METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING 

Pau-Puk-Keewis,  with  his  dancing  and  tricks,  will 
also  prove  a  curious  character,  something  like  Proteus 
of  old. 

You  shall  hear  how  Pau-Puk-Keewis 
He,  the  handsome  Yenadizze, 
Whom  the  people  called  the  Storm  Fool, 
Vexed  the  village  with  disturbance ; 
You  shall  hear  of  all  his  mischief, 
And  his  flight  from  Hiawatha, 
And  his  wondrous  transmigrations, 
And  the  end  of  his  adventures. 

The  character  of  Hiawatha,  as  of  the  benefactor, 
of  one  devoted,  with  high  purpose,  to  the  welfare  of 
his  people,  may  be  regarded  as  the  deeper  motive  of 
the  author.  It  is  the  thought  of  ideal  good  in 
Hiawatha  which  gives  tone  and  meaning  to  the 
whole  poem. 

You  shall  hear  how  Hiawatha 
Prayed  and  fasted  in  the  forest, 
Not  for  greater  skill  in  hunting, 
Not  for  greater  craft  in  fishing, 
Not  for  triumphs  in  the  battle, 
And  renown  among  the  warriors, 
But  for  profit  of  the  people, 
For  advantage  of  the  nations. 

The  views  of  geography  and  history  at  the  begin- 
ning and  close  of  the  poem  not  only  give  a  broad  scope 
to  the  story,  but  have  an  interesting  bearing  upon  the 
study  of  geography  and  history  in  those  years  of  school 
which  immediately  follow.  The  narrative  reaches 


SECOND    GRADE   STORIES  99 

from  the  Vale  of  Tawasentha  in  New  York,  across 
the  great  lakes  and  shining  Big-Sea-Water  to  Min- 
nehaha  and  the  Upper  Mississippi,  and  even  to  the 
prairies  and  the  distant  Rocky  Mountains  beyond. 
In  the  summoning  of  the  tribes  at  the  Great  Pipe 
Stone  Quarry  there  is  a  broad  survey  of  the  Indian 
tribes  of  the  United  States. 

From  the  vale  of  Tawasentha, 
From  the  Valley  of  Wyoming, 
From  the  groves  of  Tuscaloosa, 
From  the  far-off  Rocky  Mountains, 
From  the  Northern  lakes  and  rivers 
All  the  tribes  beheld  the  signal, 
Saw  the  distant  smoke  ascending, 
The  Pukwana  of  the  Peace-Pipe. 

Down  the  rivers,  o'er  the  prairies, 
Came  the  warriors  of  the  nations. 

A  map  of  North  America  is  necessary  for  showing 
the  meaning  of  this  description  to  the  children. 

In  the  last  part  the  coming  of  the  white  man 
and  the  prophecy  of  his  spreading  over  the  land, 
and  the  dwindling  of  the  native  tribes  to  the  west- 
ward, are  given. 

lagoo's  description  of  the  white  men,  their  ships 
and  appearance,  to  his  people  on  the  return  from 
his  travels,  will  greatly  please  the  children. 

He  had  seen,  he  said,  a  water 
Bigger  than  the  Big-Sea-Water, 
Broader  than  the  Gitche  Gumee, 
Bitter  so  that  none  could  drink  it! 


IOO          SPECIAL    METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING 

At  each  other  looked  the  warriors, 
Looked  the  women  at  each  other, 
Smiled,  and  said,  "It  cannot  be  so! 
Kaw! "  they  said,  "  It  cannot  be  so ; w 

"O'er  it,"  said  he,  "o'er  this  water 
Came  a  great  canoe  with  pinions, 
A  canoe  with  wings  came  flying, 
Bigger  than  a  grove  of  pine-trees, 
Taller  than  the  tallest  tree-tops ! " 
And  the  old  men  and  the  women 
Looked  and  tittered  at  each  other ; 
"Kaw!"  they  said,  "we  don't  believe  it!" 

The  story  of  Hiawatha  has  been  used  sufficiently 
in  primary  grades  to  show  how  many  are  its  sugges- 
tions for  drawing  and  constructive  work.  Little 
children  take  delight  in  drawing  the  Indian  tents, 
bows  and  arrows,  pine  forests,  Indian  warriors  and 
dress,  the  canoe,  the  tomahawk,  the  birds  and  ani- 
mals. The  cutting  of  these  forms  in  paper  they 
have  fully  enjoyed. 

Pictures  of  Indian  life,  collections  of  arrow-heads, 
the  peace-pipes,  articles  of  dress,  cooking  utensils, 
wampum,  stone  hatchets,  red  pipe-stone  ornaments, 
or  a  visit  to  any  collection  of  Indian  relics  are  desir- 
able as  a  part  of  this  instruction.  The  museums 
in  cities  and  expositions  are  rich  in  these  materials, 
and  in  many  private  collections  are  just  the  desired 
objects  of  study. 

It  is  well  known  that  children  love  to  construct 
tents,  dress  in  Indian  style,  and  imitate  the  mode  of 


SECOND   GRAD£   STORIES  10 1 

life,  the  hunting,  dancing,  and  sports  of  Indians. 
Teachers  have  taken  advantage  of  this  instinct  to 
allow  them  to  construct  an  Indian  village  on  a  small 
scale,  and  assume  the  dress  and  action  of  Hiawatha 
and  his  friends,  and  even  to  dramatize  parts  of  the 
story. 

It  is  only  certain  selected  parts  of  the  "  Hiawatha  " 
that  lend  themselves  best  to  the  oral  treatment  with 
children,  and  that,  at  first,  not  in  the  poetic  form. 
In  fact,  the  oral  treatment  of  a  story  in  beautiful 
poetic  form  demands  a  peculiar  method. 

For  example,  in  treating  the  childhood  of  Hiawatha 
as  he  dwelt  with  old  Nokomis  in  the  tent  beside  the 
sea,  the  main  facts  of  this  episode,  or  a  part  of  it, 
may  be  talked  over  by  means  of  description,  partly 
also  by  development,  question,  and  answer,  and  when 
these  things  are  clear,  let  this  passage  of  the  poem 
be  read  to  the  children.  The  preliminary  treatment 
and  discussion  will  put  the  children  in  possession 
of  the  ideas  and  pictures  by  which  they  can  better 
appreciate  and  assimilate  the  poem.  This  mode  of 
introducing  children  to  a  poem  or  literary  master- 
piece is  not  uncommon  with  children  in  later  years, 
at  least  in  the  middle  grades. 

It  has  been  customary  to  use  nearly  the  whole 
poem  in  fourth  or  fifth  school  year  for  regular  read- 
ing, and  it  is  well  suited  to  this  purpose.  Its  use  in 
primary  grades  for  such  oral  treatment  as  we  have 
described  will  not  interfere  with  its  employment  as 


IO2          SPECIAL   METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING 

reading  matter  later  on,  but  rather  increase  its  value 
for  that  purpose. 

The  method  of  handling  such  a  poem  as  reading 
has  been  discussed  in  the  Special  Method  in  the 
Reading  of  Complete  English  Classics. 

A  number  of  books  have  been  written  by  prac- 
tical teachers  on  the  use  of  "Hiawatha"  in  primary 
grades : — 

"The  Hiawatha  Primer."  Houghton,  Mifflin,  & 
Co. 

"  Hints  on  the  Study  of  Hiawatha"  (Alice  M. 
Krackowizer).  A.  Flanagan,  publisher. 

The  best  edition  of  the  "  Hiawatha  "  is  "  Longfel- 
low's Song  of  Hiawatha,"  which  is  well  illustrated. 
Published  by  Houghton,  Mifflin,  &  Co. 

Other  editions  are  "  The  Song  of  Hiawatha."  The 
Educational  Publishing  Co. 

"  Longfellow's  Hiawatha."    The  Macmillan  Co. 

"  Song  of  Hiawatha."     University  Publishing  Co. 


CHAPTER  V 

THIRD  GRADE  STORIES 
THE  MYTHICAL  STORIES 

IN  the  third  grade  we  wish  to  bring  a  number  of 
the  mythical  stories  vividly  before  the  children.  The 
classical  myths  which  belong  to  the  literature  of 
Europe  are  the  fund  from  which  to  select  the  best. 
Not  all,  but  only  a  few  of  the  simple  and  appropriate 
stories  can  be  chosen.  Only  two  recitation  periods  a 
week  are  usually  set  apart  for  the  oral  treatment  of 
these  old  myths.  But  later  in  the  progress  of  the 
reading  lessons  other  similar  stories  should  be  treated. 
The  few  recitation  periods  used  for  oral  work  are 
rather  designed  to  introduce  children  to  the  spirit  of 
this  literature,  to  get  them  into  the  appreciative  mind. 

This  body  of  ancient  myths  comes  down  to  us, 
sifted  out  of  the  early  literature  of  the  active-minded 
Greeks.  They  have  found  their  way  as  a  simple  and 
charming  poetry  into  the  national  literature  of  all  the 
European  countries.  Is  this  the  material  suited  to 
nine-  and  ten-year-old  children  ?  It  will  not  be  ques- 
tioned that  these  myths  belong  to  the  best  literary 
products  of  Europe,  but  are  they  suited  to  children  ? 

It  is  evident  that  some  of  our  best  literary  judges 
have  deemed  them  appropriate.  Hawthorne  has  put 

103 


104          SPECIAL   METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING 

them  into  a  form  designed  especially  for  the  young 
folk.  Charles  Kingsley  wrote  of  the  Greek  myths 
for  his  children :  "  Now  I  love  these  old  Hellens 
heartily,  and  they  seem  to  me  like  brothers,  though 
they  have  all  been  dead  and  gone  many  a  hundred 
years.  They  are  come  to  tell  you  some  of  their  old  fairy 
tales,  which  they  loved  when  they  were  young  like 
you.  For  nations  begin  at  first  by  being  children  like 
you,  though  they  are  made  up  of  grown  men.  They 
are  children  at  first  like  you  —  men  and  women  with 
children's  hearts ;  frank,  and  affectionate,  and  full 
of  trust,  and  teachable,  loving  to  see  and  learn  all 
the  wonders  around  them;  and  greedy  also,  too 
often,  and  passionate  and  silly,  as  children  are." 

Not  a  few  other  authors  of  less  note  have  tried  to 
turn  the  classical  myths  of  the  old  Greek  poets  into 
simple  English  for  the  entertainment  and  instruction 
of  children.  Scarcely  any  of  these  stories  that  have 
not  appeared  in  various  children's  books  in  recent 
years.  Taken  as  a  whole,  they  are  a  storehouse 
of  children's  literature.  The  philosopher,  Herbart, 
looked  upon  poems  of  Homer  as  giving  ideal  expres- 
sion to  the  boyhood  of  the  race,  and  the  story  of 
Ulysses  was  regarded  by  him  as  the  boy's  book,  — 
the  Greek  Robinson  Crusoe.  For  the  child  of  nine 
years  he  thought  it  the  most  suitable  story. 

Kingsley  says  in  his  Introduction  :  "  Now  you  must 
not  think  of  the  Greeks  in  this  book  as  learned  men, 
living  in  great  cities,  such  as  they  were  afterwards, 


THIRD   GRADE   STORIES  10$ 

when  they  wrought  all  their  beautiful  works,  but  as 
country  people,  living  on  farms  and  in  walled  villages, 
in  a  simple,  hard-working  way;  so  that  the  greatest 
kings  and  heroes  cooked  their  own  meals  and  thought 
it  no  shame,  and  made  their  own  ships  and  weapons, 
and  fed  and  harnessed  their  own  horses.  So  that  a 
man  was  honored  among  them,  not  because  he  hap- 
pened to  be  rich,  but  according  to  his  skill  and  his 
strength  and  courage  and  the  number  of  things  he 
could  do.  For  they  were  but  grown-up  children, 
though  they  were  right  noble  children  too,  and  it  was 
with  them  as  it  is  now  at  school,  the  strongest  and 
cleverest  boy,  though  he  be  poor,  leads  all  the  rest." 
In  the  introduction  to  the  "  Wonder  Book  "  we  find 
the  following :  "  Hawthorne  took  a  vital  interest  in 
child  life.  He  was  accustomed  to  observe  his  own 
children  very  closely.  There  are  private  manuscripts 
extant  which  present  exact  records  of  what  his  young 
son  and  elder  daughter  said  or  did  from  hour  to  hour, 
the  father  seating  himself  in  their  playroom  and 
patiently  noting  all  that  passed.  To  this  habit  of 
watchful  and  sympathetic  scrutiny  we  may  attribute 
in  part  the  remarkable  felicity,  the  fortunate  ease  of 
adaptation  to  the  immature  understanding,  and  the 
skilful  appeal  to  the  fresh  imaginations  which  char- 
acterize his  stories  for  the  young."  Hawthorne  him- 
self says :  "  The  author  has  long  been  of  the  opinion 
that  many  of  the  classical  myths  were  capable  of 
being  rendered  into  very  capital  reading  for  chil- 


IO6          SPECIAL   METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING 

dren.  ...  No  epoch  of  time  can  claim  a  copyright 
on  these  immortal  fables.  They  seem  never  to  have 
been  made,  and  so  long  as  man  exists  they  can  never 
perish ;  but  by  their  indestructibility  itself  they  are 
legitimate  subjects,  for  every  age  to  clothe  with  its 
own  garniture  of  manners  and  sentiment,  and  to 
imbue  with  its  own  morality.  .  .  .  The  author  has 
not  always  thought  it  necessary  to  write  downward  in 
order  to  meet  the  comprehension  of  children.  He  has 
generally  suffered  the  theme  to  soar,  whenever  such 
was  its  tendency.  Children  possess  an  unestimated 
sensibility  to  whatever  is  deep  or  high  in  imagination 
or  feeling  so  long  as  it  is  simple  likewise.  It  is  only 
the  artificial  and  the  complex  that  bewilder  them." 

A  brief  analysis  of  the  qualities  which  render  these 
myths  so  attractive  will  help  us  to  see  their  value  in 
the  education  of  children. 

The  astonishing  brightness  of  fanciful  episode  and 
of  pure  and  clear-cut  imagery  has  an  indestructible 
charm  for  children.  They  can  soar  into  and  above 
the  clouds  on  the  shining  wings  of  Pegasus.  With 
Eolus  they  shut  up  the  contrary  winds  in  an  ox-hide, 
and  later  let  them  out  to  plague  the  much-suffering 
Ulysses.  They  watch  with  astonishment  as  Jason 
yokes  the  fire-breathing  oxen  and  strews  the  field 
with  uprooted  stumps  and  stones  as  he  prepares  the 
soil  for  the  seed  of  dragon's  teeth.  Each  child 
becomes  a  poet  as  he  recreates  the  sparkling  bright- 
ness of  these  simple  pictures.  And  when  a  child 


THIRD  GRADE  STORIES  IO/ 

has  once  suffered  his  fancy  to  soar  to  these  mountain 
heights  and  ocean  depths,  it  will  no  longer  be  possi- 
ble to  make  his  life  entirely  dull  and  prosaic.  He 
has  caught  glimpses  of  a  bright  world  that  will  linger 
unfading  in  the  uplands  of  his  memory.  And  while 
they  are  so  deep  and  lofty  they  are  still,  as  Haw- 
thorne says,  very  simple.  Some  of  the  most  classic 
of  the  old  stories  are  indeed  too  long  for  third  grade 
children ;  too  many  persons  and  too  much  complexity, 
as  in  the  "  Tales  of  Troy."  But  on  the  other  hand, 
many  of  the  most  beautiful  of  the  old  myths  are  as 
plain  and  simple  to  a  child  as  a  floating  summer 
cloud.  High  in  the  sky  they  may  be  or  deep  in  the 
reflection  of  some  lake  or  spring,  but  clear  and  plain 
to  the  thought  of  a  little  child.  These  stories  in  their 
naive  simplicity  reflect  the  wonder  and  surprise  with 
which  a  person  first  beholds  grand  and  touching 
scenery,  whether  it  be  the  oppressive  grandeur  of 
some  beetling  mountain  crag,  or  the  placid  quiet  of 
a  moonlit  stream.  The  stories  selected  for  this  grade 
should  be  the  simplest  and  best :  "The  Golden  Touch," 
"  Perseus,"  "  The  Chimaera,"  of  Hawthorne,  the  epi- 
sodes of  the  "  Golden  Fleece,"  with  others  similar. 

In  one  form  or  another  they  introduce  us  to  the 
company  of  heroes,  or,  at  least,  of  great  and  simple 
characters.  Deeds  of  enterprise  and  manliness  or 
of  unselfishness  and  generosity  are  the  climax  of  the 
story.  To  meet  danger  and  hardship  or  ridicule  for 
the  sake  of  a  high  purpose  is  their  underlying 


IO8          SPECIAL    METHOD    IN   PRIMARY   READING 

thought.  Perseus  and  Jason  and  Ulysses  are  all 
ambitious  to  prove  their  title  to  superior  shrewdness 
and  courage  and  self-control.  When  we  get  fairly 
into  the  mythical  age,  we  find  ourselves  among  the 
heroes,  among  those  striving  for  mastery  and  leader- 
ship in  great  undertakings.  Physical  prowess  and 
manly  spirit  are  its  chief  virtues.  And  can  there 
be  any  question  that  there  is  a  time  in  the  lives  of 
children  when  these  ideas  fill  the  horizon  of  their 
thought  ?  Samson  and  David  and  Hercules,  Bel- 
lerophon  and  Jason,  are  a  child's  natural  thoughts  - 
or,  at  least,  they  fit  the  frame  of  his  mind  so  exactly 
that  one  may  say  the  picture  and  the  frame  were 
made  for  each  other.  The  history  of  most  countries 
contains  such  an  age  of  heroes.  Tell  in  Switzerland, 
Siegfried  in  Germany,  Bruce  in  Scotland,  Romulus 
and  Horatius  at  Rome,  Alfred  in  England,  are  all 
national  heroes  of  the  mythical  age,  whose  deeds  are 
heroic  and  of  public  good.  The  Greek  stories  are 
only  a  more  classic  edition  of  this  historical  epoch, 
and  should  lead  up  to  a  study  of  these  later  products 
of  European  literature. 

Several  forms  of  moral  excellence  are  objectively 
realized  or  personified  in  these  stories. 

As  the  wise  Centaur,  after  teaching  Jason  to  be 
skilful  and  brave,  sent  him  out  into  the  world,  he 
said  :  "  Well,  go,  my  son ;  the  throne  belongs  to  thy 
father  and  the  gods  love  justice.  But  remember,  wher- 
ever thou  dost  wander,  to  observe  these  three  things  : 


THIRD   GRADE   STORIES  IO9 

"  Relieve  the  distressed. 

"  Respect  the  aged. 

"  Be  true  to  thy  word." l 

And  many  events  in  Jason's  life  illustrate  the 
wisdom  of  these  words.  The  miraculous  pitcher  is 
one  whose  fountain  of  refreshing  milk  bubbled 
always  because  of  a  gentle  deed  of  hospitality  to 
strangers.  King  Midas,  on  the  other  hand,  experi- 
ences in  most  graphic  form  the  punishment  which 
ought  to  follow  miserly  greed,  while  his  humble 
penitence  brought  back  his  daughter  and  the  homely 
comforts  of  life.  Bellerophon  is  filled  with  a  desire 
to  perform  a  noble  deed  that  will  relieve  the  distress 
of  a  whole  people.  After  the  exercise  of  much 
patience  and  self-control  he  succeeds  in  his  gener- 
ous enterprise.  Many  a  lesson  of  worldly  wisdom 
and  homely  virtue  is  brought  out  in  the  story  of 
Ulysses'  varied  and  adventuresome  career. 

These  myths  bring  children  into  lively  contact 
with  European*  history  and  geography,  as  well  as 
with  its  modes  of  life  and  thought.  The  early  his- 
tory of  Europe  is  in  all  cases  shrouded  in  mist  and 
legend.  But  even  from  this  historically  impenetra- 
ble past  has  sprung  a  literature  that  has  exercised  a 
profound  influence  upon  the  life  and  growth  of  the 
people.  Not  that  children  are  conscious  of  the  sig- 
nificance of  these  ideas,  but  being  placed  in  an 

1  Jason* 's  Quest  (Lowell),  p.  55. 


HO          SPECIAL   METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING 

atmosphere  which  is  full  of  them,  their  deeper  mean- 
ing gradually  unfolds  itself.  The  early  myths  afford 
an  interesting  approach  for  children  to  the  history 
and  geography  of  important  countries.  Those  coun- 
tries they  must,  sooner  or  later,  make  the  acquaint- 
ance of  both  geographically  and  historically,  and 
could  anything  be  designed  to  take  stronger  hold 
upon  their  imagination  and  memory  than  these 
charming  myths,  which  were  the  poetry  and  religion 
of  the  people  once  living  there  ? 

It  is  a  very  simple  and  primitive  state  of  culture, 
whose  ships,  arms,  agriculture,  and  domestic  life  are 
given  us  in  clear  and  pleasing  pictures.  Our  own 
country  is  largely  lacking  in  a  mythical  age.  Our 
culture  sprang,  more  than  half-grown,  from  the 
midst  of  Europe's  choicest  nations,  and  out  of  insti- 
tutions that  had  been  centuries  in  forming.  The 
myths  of  Europe  are  therefore  as  truly  ours  as  they 
are  the  treasure  of  Englishmen,  of  Germans,  or  of 
Greeks.  Again,  our  own  literature,  as  well  as  that 
of  European  states,  is  full  of  the  spirit  and  sugges- 
tion of  the  mythical  age.  Our  poets  and  writers 
have  drawn  much  of  their  imagery  from  this  old 
storehouse  of  thought,  and  a  child  will  better  under- 
stand the  works  of  the  present  through  this  contact 
with  mythical  ages. 

In  method  of  treatment  with  school  classes,  these 
stories  will  admit  of  a  variation  from  the  plan  used  with 
"  Robinson  Crusoe."  One  unaccustomed  to  the  reading 


THIRD   GRADE   STORIES  III 

of  such  stories  would  be  at  a  loss  for  a  method  of 
treatment  with  children.  There  is  a  charm  and  liter- 
ary art  in  the  presentation  that  may  make  the 
teacher  feel  unqualified  to  present  them.  The  chil- 
dren are  not  yet  sufficiently  masters  of  the  printed 
symbols  of  speech  to  read  for  themselves.  Shall  the 
teacher  simply  read  the  stories  to  children  ?  We 
would  suggest  first  of  all,  that  the  teacher,  who  would 
expect  to  make  use  of  these  materials,  steep  himself 
fully  in  literature  of  this  class,  and  bring  his  mind 
into  familiar  acquaintance  and  sympathy  with  its  char- 
acters. In  interpreting  classical  authors  to  pupils, 
we  are  justified  in  requiring  of  the  teacher  intimate 
knowledge  and  appreciative  sympathy  with  his  author. 
Certainly  no  one  will  teach  these  stories  well  whose 
fancy  was  never  touched  into  airy  flights  —  who  can- 
not become  a  child  again  and  partake  of  his  pleas- 
ures. No  condescension  is  needed,  but  ascension  to 
a  free  and  ready  flight  of  fancy.  By  learning  to 
drink  at  these  ancient  fountains  of  song  and  poetry, 
the  teacher  might  learn  to  tell  a  fairy  story  for  him- 
self. But  doubtless  it  will  be  well  to  mingle  oral  narra- 
tive and  description  on  the  part  of  the  teacher  with  the 
fit  reading  of  choice  parts  so  as  to  better  preserve  the 
classic  beauty  and  suggestion  of  the  author.  Children 
are  quite  old  enough  now  to  appreciate  beauty  of  lan- 
guage and  expressive,  happy  turns  of  speech.  In 
the  midst  of  question,  suggestion,  and  discussion  be- 
tween pupil  and  teacher,  the  story  should  be  carried 


112         SPECIAL   METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING 

forward,  never  forgetting  to  stop  at  suitable  intervals 
and  get  such  a  reproduction  of  the  story  as  the  little 
children  are  capable  of.  And  indeed  they  are  capa- 
ble of  much  in  this  direction,  for  their  thoughts  are 
more  nimble,  and  their  power  of  expression  more  apt, 
oftentimes,  than  the  teacher's  own. 

We  would  not  favor  a  simple  reading  of  these 
stories  for  the  entertainment  of  pupils.  It  should 
take  more  the  form  of  a  school  exercise,  requiring 
not  only  interest  and  attention,  but  vigorous  effort  to 
grasp  and  reproduce  the  thought.  The  result  should 
be  a  much  livelier  and  deeper  insight  into  the  story 
than  would  be  secured  by  a  simple  reading  for  amuse- 
ment or  variety.  They  should  prepare  also  for  an 
appreciative  reading  of  other  myths  in  the  following 
grades. 

After  all,  in  two  or  three  recitation  periods  a  week, 
extending  through  a  year,  it  cannot  be  expected  that 
children  will  make  the  acquaintance  of  all  the  litera- 
ture that  could  be  properly  called  the  myth  of  the 
heroic  age  in  different  countries.  All  that  we  may 
expect  is  to  enter  this  paradise  of  children,  to  pluck 
a  few  of  its  choicest  flowers,  and  get  such  a  breath  of 
their  fragrance  that  there  will  be  a  child's  desire  to 
return  again  and  again.  The  school  also  should  pro- 
vide in  the  succeeding  year  for  an  abundance  of  read- 
ing of  myths.  The  same  old  stories  which  they  first 
learned  to  enjoy  in  oral  recitations  should  be  read  in 
books,  and  still  others  should  be  utilized  in  the  regu- 


THIRD   GRADE   STORIES  1 13 

lar  reading  classes  of  the  fourth  and  fifth  grades.  In 
this  way  the  myths  of  other  countries  may  be  brought 
in,  the  story  of  Tell,  of  Siegfried,  of  Alfred,  and  of 
others. 

In  summarizing  the  advantages  of  a  systematic 
attempt  to  get  this  simple  classic  lore  into  our 
schools,  we  recall  the  interest  and  mental  activity 
which  it  arouses,  its  power  to  please  and  satisfy  the 
creative  fancy  in  children,  its  fundamental  feeling 
and  instincts,  the  virtues  of  bravery,  manliness,  and 
unselfishness,  and  all  this  in  a  form  that  still  further 
increases  its  culture  effect  upon  teacher  and  pupil. 
It  should  never  be  forgotten  that  teacher  and  pupil 
alike  are  here  imbibing  lessons  and  inspirations  that 
draw  them  into  closer  sympathy  because  the  subject 
is  worthy  of  both  old  and  young. 

In  addition  to  the  earlier  Greek  myths  we  may  men- 
tion the  following  subjects  as  suitable  for  oral  treatment  : 

The  story  of  Ulysses  has  been  much  used  in  schools 
with  oral  presentation,  and  is  one  of  the  best  tales  for 
this  purpose  in  all  literature.  A  somewhat  full  dis- 
cussion of  the  value  of  this  story  for  schools  is  found 
in  the  Special  Method  in  Reading  of  Complete 
English  Classics. 

The  Norse  mythology  has  also  received  much 
attention  from  teachers  who  have  used  the  oral  mode 
of  treatment.  Several  of  the  best  books  of  Norse 
mythology  are  mentioned  in  the  appended  list  Also 
the  great  story  of  Siegfried. 


114          SPECIAL   METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING 

Some  of  the  old  traditional  stories  in  the  early  his- 
tory of  Rome,  of  France,  Germany,  and  England,  have 
been  used  for  oral  narration  and  reading  to  children. 

The  "  Seven  Little  Sisters  "  and  its  companion  book 
"  Each  and  All,"  and  the  "  Ten  Boys  on  the  Road 
from  Long  Ago  to  Now,"  by  Jane  Andrews,  published 
by  Ginn  &  Co.,  have  been  employed  extensively  for 
oral  and  reading  work  in  the  third  and  fourth  years 
of  school.  The  "  Seven  Little  Sisters  "  is  valuable  in 
connection  with  the  beginnings  of  geography. 

BOOKS  FOR  THIRD  YEAR  OF  SCHOOL 

The  Wonder  Book  of  Nathaniel  Hawthorne. 

The  following  stories  are  especially  recommended:  The 
Gorgon's  Head,  The  Golden  Touch,  The  Miraculous  Pitcher, 
and  The  Chimasra. 

One  should  preserve  as  much  as  possible  of  the  spirit  and 
language  of  the  author.  Perhaps  in  classes  with  children  the 
other  stories  will  be  found  equally  attractive :  The  Paradise 
of  Children  and  the  Three  Golden  Apples.  Published  by 
Houghton,  Mifflin,  &  Co.,  Boston. 
Kingsley's  Greek  Heroes. 

The  stories  of  Perseus,  the  Argonauts,  and  Theseus,  es- 
pecially adapted  to  children.  It  may  be  advisable  for  the 
teacher  to  abbreviate  the  stories,  leaving  out  unimportant 
parts,  but  giving  the  best  portions  in  the  fullest  detail.  Pub- 
lished by  Ginn  &  Co. ;  The  Macmillan  Co. 
Story  of  the  Iliad  and  Story  of  the  Odyssey  (Church). 

Simple  and  interesting  narrative  of  the  Homeric  stories. 
The  Macmillan  Co. 
Jason's  Quest  (Lowell). 

The  story  of  the  Argonauts  with  many  other  Greek  myths 
woven  into  the  narrative.  This  book  is  a  store  of  excellent 
material.  The  teacher  should  select  from  it  those  parts 


THIRD   GRADE   STORIES  11$ 

specially  suited  to  the  grade.    Published  by  Sibley  &  Ducker, 
Chicago. 
Adventures  of  Ulysses  (Lamb) . 

A  small  book  from  which  the  chief  episodes  of  Ulysses' 
career  can  be  obtained.     Published  by  Ginn  &  Co.,  Boston. 
The  Story  of  Siegfried  (Baldwin) .    Published  by  Scribner's  Sons. 
Peabody's  Old  Greek  Folk  Stories. 

Simple  and  well  written.     A  supplement  to  the  Wonder 
Book.     Published  by  Houghton,  Mifflin,  &  Co. 
Tales  of  Troy  (De  Garmo). 

The  story  of  the  siege  of  Troy  and  of  the  great  events  of 
Homer's  Iliad.    This  story,  on  account  of  its  complexity, 
we  deem  better  adapted  to  the  fourth  grade.     Published  by 
the  Public  School  Publishing  Co.,  Bloomington,  111. 
Stories  of  the  Old  World  (Church). 

Stories  of  the  Argo,  of  Thebes,  of  Troy,  of  Ulysses,  and 
of  yEneas.     Stories  are  simply  and  well  told.     It  is  a  book 
of  350  pages,  and  would  serve  well  as  a  supplementary  reader 
in  fourth  grade.     Published  by  Ginn  &  Co. 
Gods  and  Heroes  (Francillon) . 

A  successful  effort  to  cover  the  whole  field  of  Greek  my- 
thology in  the  story  form.     Ginn  &  Co. 
The  Tanglewood  Tales  (Nathaniel  Hawthorne). 

A  continuation  of  the  Wonder  Book. 
Heroes  of  Asgard. 

Stories  of  Norse  mythology ;  simple  and  attractive.    Mac- 
millan  &  Co. 
The  Story  of  Ulysses  (Agnes  S.  Cook). 

An  account  of  the  adventures  of  Ulysses,  told  in  connected 
narrative,  in  language  easily  comprehended  by  children  in 
the  third  and  fourth  grades.    Public  School  Publishing  Co., 
Bloomington,  111. 
Old  Norse  Stories  (Bradish). 

Stories  for  reference  and  sight  reading.   American  Book  Co. 
Norse  Stories  (Mabie). 

An  excellent  rendering  of  the  old  stories.     Dodd,  Mead1 
&Co. 


1 1 6          SPECIAL   METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING 

Myths  of  Northern  Lands  (Guerber).    American  Book  Co. 

The  Age  of  Fable  (Bulfinch).     Lee  and  Shepard. 

Readings  in  Folk  Lore  (Skinner) .     American  Book  Co. 

National  Epics  (Rabb).    A.  C.  McClurg  &  Co. 

Classic  Myths  (Gayley).    Ginn  &  Co. 

Bryant's  Odyssey.     Complete  poetic  translation.     Houghton, 

Mifflin,  &  Co. 

Bryant's  Iliad.     Houghton,  Mifflin,  &  Co. 
Butcher  and  Lang's  prose  translation  of  the  Odyssey.     The  Mac- 

millan  Co. 
The  Odyssey  of  Homer  (Palmer).    Houghton,  Mifflin,  &  Co. 

A  prose  translation. 
Myths  and  Myth  Makers  (Fiske). 
Moral  Instruction  of  Children  (Felix  Adler).    Chapter  X.    D. 

Appleton  &  Co. 

THE   BIBLE   STORIES 

The  stories  of  early  Bible  history  have  been  much 
used  in  all  European  lands,  and  in  America,  for  the 
instruction  of  children.  Among  Jews  and  Christians 
everywhere,  and  even  among  Mohammedans,  these 
stories  have  been  extensively  used.  They  include 
the  simple  accounts  of  the  patriarchs,  Abraham, 
Isaac,  Jacob,  Joseph  and  his  brethren,  Moses,  Joshua, 
Samson,  Samuel,  and  David.  It  may  be  seen  at  a 
glance  that  no  more  famous  stories  than  these  could 
be  selected  from  the  history  of  any  country  in  the 
world.  They  stand  preeminent  as  graphic  descrip- 
tions of  the  modes  of  life  which  prevailed  in  the  early 
period  of  civilized  races.  The  old  patriarchs  lived  in 
what  is  usually  called  the  pastoral  age,  when  men 
dwelt  in  tents  and  moved  about  from  place  to  place 


THIRD   GRADE   STORIES 

with  their  flocks  in  search  of  pasture.  The  patriarch 
at  the  head  of  the  family,  and  even  of  a  whole  tribe, 
is  the  father,  ruler,  priest,  and  judge  for  the  little 
community  over  which  he  presides.  In  his  person 
there  is  a  simple  union  of  all  the  important  powers 
of  the  later  Hebrew  state.  The  dignity  and  authority 
which  centre  in  the  person  of  Abraham,  together 
with  a  marked  gravity  and  strength  of  character, 
lend  a  distinct  grandeur  to  his  personality,  so  that  he 
has  been  recognized  in  all  ages  as  one  of  the  great 
figures  in  the  history  of  the  world ;  the  foremost  of 
the  old  patriarchs,  —  the  father  of  the  faithful.  A 
similar  respect  and  dignity  attaches  to  all  these  old 
Bible  characters,  and  in  the  case  of  Moses,  rises  to 
a  supreme  height,  while  in  David  the  warrior,  states- 
man, and  poet  are  united  in  one  of  the  most  pro- 
nounced and  pleasing  characters  in  the  world's 
history.  These  old  stories  are  also  unparalleled  in 
the  simplicity  and  transparent  clearness  with  which 
the  life  of  the  pastoral  age  is  depicted.  Human 
nature  comes  out  in  a  series  of  pictures  most  striking 
and  individual,  and  yet  unmistakably  true  to  life  and 
reality.  And  yet  while  this  life  was  so  small  in  its 
compass,  it  is  almost  wholly  free  from  narrowness 
and  provincialism.  The  universal  qualities  of  human 
nature,  common  to  men  in  all  ages  and  countries, 
stand  out  with  a  clearness  which  even  little  children 
can  grasp.  The  story  of  Joseph  and  his  brethren  is 
probably  the  finest  story  that  was  ever  written  for 


Il8          SPECIAL   METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING 

children  from  eight  to  ten  years  of  age.  The  char- 
acters involved  in  this  family  history  are  striking  and 
impressive,  and  the  strength  of  the  family  virtues 
and  affections  has  never  been  set  forth  with  greater 
simplicity  and  power. 

The  heroic  qualities  which  appear  in  the  old  Bible 
stories,  especially  in  Moses,  Samson,  and  David,  would 
bear  a  favorable  comparison  with  the  men  of  the 
heroic  age  in  all  countries.  Strength  of  character 
combined  with  faith  in  high  ideals,  pursued  with 
unwavering  resolution,  is  a  peculiar  merit  of  these 
narratives.  The  heroes  of  the  Hebrew  race  should 
be  compared,  later  on,  with  the  most  renowned 
heroes  of  England,  Scotland,  Germany,  and  Greece, 
and  even  of  America,  for  they  have  common  qualities 
which  have  like  merit  as  educative  materials  for  the 
young. 

This  early  literature  of  the  Bible  stories  will  be 
found  to  contain  a  large  part  of  the  universal  thought 
of  the  world,  that  is,  of  the  masterly  ideas  which, 
because  of  their  superior  truth  and  excellence,  have 
gradually  worked  their  way  as  controlling  principles 
into  the  life  of  all  modern  nations.  It  need  hardly 
be  said  that  these  stories  have  a  peculiar  charm 
and  attractiveness  for  children.  The  simplicity  of  a 
patriarchal  age,  the  strong  interest  in  persons  of 
heroic  quality,  the  descriptions  of  early  childhood, 
the  heroic  deeds  of  bold  and  high-spirited  youth,  — 
these  things  command  the  unfaltering  interest  of 


THIRD   GRADE   STORIES 

children,  and  at  the  same  time  give  their  lives  a 
touch  of  moral  strength  and  idealism  which  is  of  the 
highest  promise. 

The  oral  treatment  of  these  stories  in  the  third  or 
fourth  year  of  school  is  the  only  mode  of  bringing 
them  before  the  children  in  their  full  power,  and  they 
are  well  adapted  to  easy  oral  narrative  and  discussion. 
The  language  is  the  genuine,  simple,  powerful  old 
English,  and  the  teacher  should  become  thoroughly 
saturated  with  these  simple  words  and  modes  of 
thought.  The  dramatic  element  is  also  not  lacking 
in  many  parts,  and  can  be  well  executed  in  the  class- 
room. Many  opportunities  will  be  furnished  to  the 
children  for  drawing  pictures  illustrating  the  stories. 
Many  of  the  most  famous  masterpieces  of  painting 
and  sculpture  represent  the  persons  and  scenes  of 
these  tales.  The  great  heroes  of  Christian  art  have 
exhausted  their  skill  in  these  representations,  which 
are  now  being  furnished  to  the  schools  by  the  large 
publishing  houses.  Even  the  costumes  and  modes 
of  life  are  thus  brought  home  to  the  children  in  the 
most  realistic  yet  artistic  way. 

An  acquaintance  with  such  early  stories  of  Hebrew 
history  is  an  introduction  to  some  of  the  finest  litera- 
ture of  the  English  language.  First,  that  dealing  with 
the  Hebrew  scriptures  themselves,  as  the  books  of 
Moses,  the  psalms  of  David,  and  second,  a  number  of 
the  great  poems  of  English  masters,  as  the  "Burial 
of  Moses"  and  Milton's  "Samson  Agonistes."  In 


I2O          SPECIAL   METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING 

short,  we  may  say  that  these  stories  are  the  key  to  a 
large  part  of  our  best  English  thought. 

Adler,  in  his  "  Moral  Instruction  of  Children,"  says  : 
"  The  narrative  of  the  Bible  is  fairly  saturated  with 
the  moral  spirit ;  the  moral  issues  are  everywhere  in 
the  forefront.  Duty,  guilt,  and  its  punishment,  the 
conflict  of  conscience  with  inclination,  are  the  lead- 
ing themes.  The  Hebrew  people  seem  to  have  been 
endowed  with  what  may  be  called  '  a  moral  genius/ 
and  especially  did  they  emphasize  the  filial  and  fra- 
ternal duties  to  an  extent  hardly  equalled  elsewhere. 
Now  it  is  precisely  these  duties  that  must  be  im- 
pressed upon  young  children,  and  hence  the  biblical 
stories  present  us  with  the  very  material  we  require. 
They  cannot,  hi  this  respect,  be  replaced;  there  is 
no  other  literature  in  the  world  that  offers  what  is 
equal  to  them  in  value  for  the  particular  object  we 
now  have  in  view." 

If  we  could  only  contemplate  the  patriarchal  stories 
as  a  part  of  the  great  literature  of  the  world,  on 
account  of  its  typical  yet  realistic  portraiture  of  men 
and  women,  we  might  use  this  material  as  we  use  the 
very  best  derived  from  other  sources.  Mr.  Adler 
remarks  that  "this  typical  quality  in  Homer's  por- 
traiture has  been  one  secret  of  its  universal  impres- 
siveness.  The  Homeric  outlines  are  in  each  case 
brilliantly  distinct,  while  they  leave  to  the  reader  a 
certain  liberty  of  private  conception,  and  he  can  fill 
them  in  to  satisfy  his  own  ideal.  We  may  add  that 


THIRD   GRADE   STORIES  121 

this  is  just  as  true  of  the  Bible  as  of  Homer.  The 
biblical  narrative,  too,  depicts  a  few  essential  traits  of 
human  nature,  and  refrains  from  multiplying  minor 
traits  which  might  interfere  with  the  main  effect. 
The  Bible,  too,  draws  its  figures  in  outline,  and  leaves 
every  age  free  to  fill  them  in  so  as  to  satisfy  its  own 
ideal." 

Moreover,  their  use  is  not  a  matter  of  experiment. 
For  hundreds  of  years  they  have  held  the  first  place 
in  the  best  homes  and  schools  of  Germany,  England, 
and  America,  and  their  educative  influence  has  been 
profoundly  felt  in  all  Christian  nations. 

We  have  several  editions  of  the  stories  adapted 
from  the  Bible  for  school  use.  In  the  Bible  itself 
they  are  not  found  in  the  simple,  connected  form  that 
makes  them  available  for  school  use.  One  of  the 
best  editions  for  school  is  that  published  by  Houghton, 
Mifflin,  &  Co.,  called,  "Old  Testament  Stories  in 
Scriptural  Language."  A  free  and  somewhat  origi- 
nal rendering  of  the  stories  is  given  by  Baldwin  in 
his  "Old  Stories  of  the  East,"  published  by  the 
American  Book  Co.  Both  of  these  books  have  been 
extensively  used  in  the  schools  of  this  country.  The 
oral  treatment  of  the  Bible  stories  in  the  schools  has 
not  been  common  in  this  country,  but  it  has  all  the 
merits  described  by  us  in  the  chapter  on  oral  instruc- 
tion. In  fourth  and  fifth  grades  these  books  may 
serve  well  for  exercises  in  reading. 

In  a  great  many  schools  of  this  country  they  can 


122          SPECIAL   METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING 

be  used  and  are  used  without  giving  offence  to  any- 
body, and  where  this  is  true,  they  well  deserve  recog- 
nition in  our  school  course  because  of  their  superior 
presentation  of  some  of  the  great  universal  ideas  of 
our  civilization. 

BOOKS  FOR  TEACHERS  OF   BIBLE   LITERATURE 

The  Modern  Reader's  Bible,  twenty-one  volumes  (Richard  Moul- 

ton).     The  Macmillan  Co. 
Children's  Series.    Old  Testament  and  New  Testament  Stories. 

In  two  volumes.     The  Macmillan  Co. 
Stories  from  the  Bible  (Church).    The  Macmillan  Co. 
Story  of  the  Chosen  People  (Guerber).    The  American  Book  Co. 
The  Literary  Study  of  the  Bible  (Moulton).    D.  C.  Heath  &  Co. 

STORIES   OF   ROBIN   HOOD 

In  the  latter  part  of  third  grade  or  beginning  of 
fourth,  the  stories  of  Robin  Hood  are  likely  to  prove 
exhilarating  to  children. 

These  stories  of  the  bold,  manly,  good-natured 
outlaw,  with  his  band  of  trusty  men  in  Sherwood 
Forest,  have  been  famous  throughout  England  these 
five  hundred  years,  and  the  stories  themselves,  and 
the  ballads  accompanying  them,  are  a. genuine  part 
of  the  treasures  of  the  older  English  literature. 
They  have  been  worked  by  Howard  Pyle  into  the 
stout,  hearty  English  style  which  'is  so  appropriate 
to  the  rendering  of  the  deeds  of  this  sturdy  English 
yeoman  and  his  band. 

Their  careless  life  and  woodland  sports  under  the 


THIRD   GRADE    STORIES  123 

Greenwood  Tree,  and  their  merry  adventures  and 
shooting  matches,  have  been  the  delight  of  many 
a  generation  of  English  children.  But  even  their 
woodland  sports  were  a  severe  and  rugged  training 
in  hardy  endurance  and  manly  spirit.  Pyle  says 
well  in  his  preface  :  "  For  honest  purposes  manfully 
followed  and  hard  knocks  courageously  endured 
must  always  interest  the  wholesome  boy;  while  na- 
ture is  so  closely  akin  to  man  in  the  golden  days  of 
his  green  youth  that  tales  of  the  Greenwood,  where 
the  leaves  rustle  and  the  birds  sing,  and  all  the  air 
is  full  of  sweet  savors  of  growing  things,  must  ever 
have  a  potent  charm  for  the  fresh  imagination  of 
childhood." 

One  phase  of  this  training,  as  manifested  in  the 
stories,  is  not  only  the  ability  to  take  hard  knocks 
and  keep  a  stiff  upper  lip,  as  the  old  saying  goes, 
but  to  master  chagrin  and  anger  and  endure  fun  and 
gibes  at  one's  own  expense;  indeed,  even  with  aching 
bones  and  buzzing  ears,  to  join  in  the  merriment 
over  one's  own  discomfiture.  This  is  an  unusual 
accompaniment  of  even  good  stories,  which  makes 
them  truly  wholesome.  The  fun  of  the  stories  also 
is  of  a  light  and  rollicking  sort  which  children  should 
have  a  chance  to  thoroughly  enjoy.  In  fact  it  is 
excellent  material  upon  which  to  cultivate  their  early 
sense  of  the  comic  and  humorous.  The  literature 
used  in  early  school  years  has,  unfortunately,  too 
little  of  the  sportive  and  laughable,  and  the  Robin 


124          SPECIAL   METHOD    IN   PRIMARY   READING 

Hood  adventures  will  help  in  no  small  degree  to 
remedy  this  defect. 

It  is  interesting  to  note,  also,  that  brute  strength 
is  not  at  a  premium,  but  skill  and  quick-wittedness. 
Not  the  least  attractive  and  forcible  part  of  Robin 
Hood's  character  is  the  shrewd- witted  versatility  and 
boldness  with  which  he  plays  any  part  which  circum- 
stances require  him  to  assume.  His  foes  are  circum- 
vented by  his  shrewdness  and  keen  wit  even  as  much 
as  by  his  unfailing  skill  in  archery  or  dexterous 
strength  in  personal  contest. 

Robin  Hood's  relation  to  the  British  government 
was  known  as  that  of  the  outlaw,  although  the  visit 
of  King  Richard  to  him  in  Sherwood  Forest  and  his 
service  under  that  prince  and  others  gave  him  a  cer- 
tain legal  status.  He  has  always  been  regarded  as 
a  popular  hero  representing  the  rights  of  the  com- 
mon people. 

After  describing  Robin  Hood's  first  adventure 
with  the  foresters  and  his  outlawry,  Howard  Pyle 
says :  "  But  Robin  Hood  lay  hidden  in  Sherwood 
Forest  for  one  year,  and  in  that  time  there  gathered 
around  him  many  others  like  himself,  outlawed  for 
this  cause  and  for  that. 

"  So,  in  all  that  year,  five  score  or  more  good,  stout 
yeomen  joined  themselves  to  him,  and  chose  him  to 
be  their  leader  and  chief.  Then  they  vowed  that 
even  as  they  themselves  had  been  despoiled  they 
would  despoil  their  oppressors,  whether  baron,  abbot, 


THIRD   GRADE   STORIES  12$ 

knight,  or  squire,  and  that  from  each  they  would 
take  that  which  had  been  wrung  from  the  poor  by 
unjust  taxes,  or  land  rents,  or  in  wrongful  fines;  but 
to  the  poor  folk  they  would  give  a  helping  hand  in 
need  and  trouble,  and  would  return  to  them  that 
which  had  been  unjustly  taken  from  them.  Besides 
this,  they  swore  never  to  harm  a  child,  nor  to  wrong 
a  woman,  be  she  maid,  wife,  or  widow ;  so  that,  after 
a  while,  when  the  people  began  to  find  that  no  harm 
was  meant  to  them,  but  that  money  or  food  came  in 
time  of  want  to  many  a  poor  family,  they  came  to 
praise  Robin  and  his  merry  men,  and  to  tell  many 
tales  of  him  and  of  his  doings  in  Sherwood  Forest, 
for  they  felt  him  to  be  one  of  themselves." 

When  we  consider  the  stories  which  tradition  has 
handed  down  relative  to  the  exploits  of  Robin  Hood, 
the  Old-English  ballads  which  celebrate  them  in 
song,  the  stories  of  King  Richard's  visit  to  him  in 
Sherwood,  and  Robin's  visit  to  the  court  of  Eleanor 
and  King  Henry  at  London  town,  to  share  in  the 
great  shooting-match,  and  the  story  of  Locksley  in 
Scott's  "Ivanhoe"  —  we  might  almost  say  that 
Robin  Hood  would  bear  favorable  comparison  with 
any  Englishman  of  his  time.  At  any  rate  it  would 
be  difficult  to  find  among  the  kings  and  great  lords 
of  that  age  one  who  had  so  much  regard  for  justice 
and  fair  dealing  among  men,  to  say  nothing  of  his 
kindness  to  the  poor  and  needy. 

He  stands  distinctly  for  those  rights  of  the  com- 


126          SPECIAL   METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING 

mon  people  which  were  constantly  violated  by  the 
powerful  and  influential  in  that  half-barbarous  age 
of  feudalism.  It  is  from  this  instinct  for  popular 
rights  that  the  body  of  English  liberties  has  gradu- 
ally developed,  and  it  is  not  strange  that  Robin 
Hood  has  always  been  regarded  as  a  hero  among 
a  people  who  have  preserved  this  instinct  for  liberty 
and  justice. 

The  foresters  of  Robin  Hood's  band  were  lovers 
of  forest  and  glade;  the  song  of  the  bird  and  fra- 
grance of  wild  flowers  were  sweet  to  them.  In  Pyle's 
introductory  chapter  is  this  description  of  their  re- 
treat under  the  Greenwood.  "  So  turning  their  backs 
upon  the  stream,  they  plunged  into  the  forest  once 
more,  through  which  they  traced  their  steps  till  they 
reached  the  spot  where  they  dwelt  in  the  depths  of 
the  woodland.  There  had  they  built  huts  of  bark 
and  branches  of  trees,  and  made  couches  of  sweet 
rushes  spread  over  with  skins  of  fallow  deer.  Here 
stood  a  great  oak  tree  with  branches  spreading 
broadly  around,  beneath  which  was  a  seat  of  green 
moss  where  Robin  Hood  was  wont  to  sit  at  feast 
and  at  merrymaking,  with  his  stout  men  about  him. 
Here  they  found  the  rest  of  the  band,  some  of  whom 
had  come  in  with  a  brace  of  fat  does.  Then  they 
built  great  fires,  and  after  the  feast  was  ready  they 
all  sat  down,  but  Robin  Hood  placed  Little  John  at 
his  right  hand,  for  he  was  henceforth  to  be  the 
second  in  the  band." 


THIRD   GRADE   STORIES  127 

Little  John's  bout  with  the  tanner  of  Blyth  is 
introduced  thus:  — 

"  One  fine  day,  not  long  after  Little  John  had  left 
abiding  with  the  Sheriff  and  had  come  back  to  the 
merry  Greenwood,  Robin  Hood  and  a  few  chosen 
fellows  of  his  band  lay  upon  the  soft  sward  beneath 
the  Greenwood  Tree  where  they  dwelt.  The  day 
was  warm  and  sultry,  so  that  whilst  most  of  the  band 
were  scattered  through  the  forest  upon  this  mission 
and  upon  that,  these  few  stout  fellows  lay  lazily 
beneath  the  shade  of  the  tree,  in  the  soft  afternoon, 
passing  jests  among  themselves  and  telling  merry 
stories,  with  laughter  and  mirth. 

"  All  the  air  was  laden  with  the  bitter  fragrance  of 
the  May,  and  all  the  bosky  shades  of  the  woodlands 
beyond  rang  with  the  sweet  song  of  birds,  —  the 
throstle-cock,  the  cuckoo,  and  the  wood-pigeon, — 
and  with  the  song  of  birds  mingled  the  cool  sound 
of  the  gurgling  brook  that  leaped  out  of  the  forest 
shades,  and  ran  fretting  amid  its  rough  gray  stones 
across  the  sunlit  open  glade  before  the  try  sting-tree." 

This  delight  in  the  beauty  and  music  of  all  nature 
about  them  is  a  sort  of  atmosphere  which  gives  tone 
to  all  the  stories  of  this  group. 

The  language  in  which  the  stories  are  narrated  is 
rich  in  the  quaint  and  vigorous  phrases  of  Old 
English,  reminding  one  of  the  times  of  Shakespeare 
and  before.  One  could  hardly  give  the  children  a 
better  introduction  to  the  riches  of  our  mother  tongue. 


128          SPECIAL   METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING 

The  description  of  English  customs,  the  popular 
festivities,  the  booths  of  the  market  town,  the  parade 
of  feudal  lords  and  retainers,  the  constraints  placed 
upon  hunting  by  kings  and  lords,  and  the  hardships 
of  the  poor  are  touched  upon  in  significant  ways. 
The  stories  give  an  insight  into  the  English  charac- 
ter, their  love  of  rude  sports,  their  ballad  literature, 
and  their  respect  for  honesty  and  courage  and 
shrewdness. 

The  ballads  associated  with  the  Robin  Hood 
legends  are  often  beautiful  and  striking  expressions 
of  the  English  spirit,  and  have  a  special  charm  for 
children.  They  should  be  read  in  connection  with 
the  later  reading  of  the  stories  in  the  third  and 
fourth  school  years. 

The  bearing  of  these  tales  upon  early  feudal  his- 
tory and  the  general  literature  of  that  age  is  of  im- 
portance. This  is  well  illustrated  in  "Ivanhoe"  in 
the  use  by  Richard  of  Robin  Hood  and  his  archers  in 
the  attack  upon  Torquilstone,  and  in  various  exploits 
of  the  men  of  the  Greenwood  when  brought  in  con- 
tact with  knights  on  horseback.  There  is  also  a 
kinship  in  these  narratives  with  some  of  the  best 
stories  and  novels  of  early  English  history,  as  Scott's 
"  Tales  of  a  Grandfather,"  Kingsley's  "  Hereward  the 
Wake,"  Jane  Andrew's  "  Gilbert  the  Page,"  and  a 
number  of  Scott's  novels. 

In  the  oral  treatment  of  the  stories  in  the  third  or 
fourth  school  year,  the  teacher  will  find  her  powers 


THIRD   GRADE   STORIES  I2Q 

of  presentation  taxed  in  a  peculiar  way.  The  quaint 
language  and  humorous  tone,  the  occasional  witty 
conceits,  will  need  to  be  appreciated  and  enjoyed,  and 
the  mode  of  presentation  suited  to  the  thought.  Let 
the  teacher  first  of  all  thoroughly  enjoy  the  stories 
and  in  rendering  them  to  children  in  the  classroom 
lose  herself  in  the  tone  and  spirit  of  the  account.  It 
requires  great  freedom  and  flexibility  of  body  and 
mind  to  do  this  well,  but  that  is  what  a  teacher  most 
of  all  needs.  The  humorous  part,  especially,  will  re- 
quire a  certain  unbending  of  the  stiff  manners  of  a 
teacher,  but  no  harm  is  done  in  this. 

The  large  volume  of  Robin  Hood  stories  by  Pyle 
should  be  in  the  hands  of  the  teacher,  if  possible, 
although  it  is  an  expensive  book.  It  is  much  fuller 
in  the  special  details  of  the  stories  needed  by  the 
teacher,  though  the  smaller  book  is  far  better  adapted 
as  a  reading  book  for  schools. 

To  illustrate  the  place  which  the  Robin  Hood 
legends  hold  in  English  history  and  literature,  the 
following  selections,  quoted  from  Tennyson's  "The 
Foresters"  and  one  of  the  old  ballads,  are  given. 
They  are  taken  from  "  English  History  told  by 
English  Poets,"  published  by  The  Macmillan  Com- 
pany, where  the  passage  from  "The  Foresters"  is 
given  at  greater  length. 


I3O         SPECIAL   METHOD   IN  PRIMARY  READING 

KING  RICHARD   IN   SHERWOOD   FOREST 

LORD  TENNYSON 
(  From  "  The  Foresters  "  ) 

Robin  Hood  and  Maid  Marian,  Friar  Tuck  and 
George-a-Green,  Will  Scarlet,  Midge  the  Miller's 
Son,  Little  John,  and  the  rest  are  legendary  char- 
acters loved  and  sung  from  the  fourteenth  century 
to  modern  times.  The  charm  of  these  light-hearted 
highwaymen  was  felt  by  Shakespeare  himself: 
"  They  say  he  is  already  in  the  forest  of  Arden,  and 
a  many  merry  men  with  him :  and  there  they  live  like 
the  old  Robin  Hood  of  England;  they  say  many 
young  gentlemen  flock  to  him  every  day,  and  fleet 
the  time  carelessly,  as  they  did  in  the  golden  world." 
—  ("As  You  Like  It,"  I,  i.)  Tennyson  adopts  the 
tradition  that  the  generous  outlaws  dwelt  in  Sher- 
wood Forest  in  Cumberlandshire,  and  that  their 
leader,  Robin  Hood,  was  the  banished  Earl  of  Hunt- 
ingdon. The  plot  of  the  "The  Foresters"  turns 
upon  the  sudden  return  of  Richard  from  his  Austrian 
captivity  and  the  consequent  collapse  of  the  intrigues 
conducted  by  his  crafty  and  cruel  brother  John. 

Robin  Hood.  Am  I  worse  or  better? 

I  am  outlaw'd.     I  am  none  the  worse  for  that 
I  held  for  Richard  and  I  hated  John. 
I  am  a  thief,  ay,  and  a  king  of  thieves. 
Ay  !  but  we  rob  the  robber,  wrong  the  wronger, 


THIRD   GRADE   STORIES  131 

And  what  we  wring  from  them  we  give  the  poor. 

I  am  none  the  worse  for  that,  and  all  the  better 

For  this  free  forest-life,  for  while  I  sat 

Among  my  thralls  in  my  baronial  hall 

The  groining  hid  the  heavens ;  but  since  I  breathed, 

A  houseless  head  beneath  the  sun  and  stars, 

The  soul  of  the  woods  hath  stricken  thro1  my  blood, 

The  love  of  freedom,  th«  desire  of  God, 

The  hope  of  larger  life  hereafter,  more 

Tenfold  than  under  roof. 

True,  were  I  taken 

They  would  prick  out  my  sight.     A  price  is  set 
On  this  poor  head ;  but  I  believe  there  lives 
No  man  who  truly  loves  and  truly  rules 
His  following,  but  can  keep  his  followers  true. 
I  am  one  with  mine.     Traitors  are  rarely  bred 
Save  under  traitor  kings.     Our  vice-king  John, 
True  king  of  vice  —  true  play  on  words  —  our  John, 
By  his  Norman  arrogance  and  dissoluteness, 
Hath  made  me  king  of  all  the  discontent 
Of  England  up  thro'  all  the  forest  land 
North  to  the  Tyne :  being  outlaw' d  in  a  land 
Where  law  lies  dead,  we  make  ourselves  the  law. 

King  Richard  (to  Robin}.    My  good  friend  Robin,  Earl  of 

Huntingdon, 

For  Earl  thou  art  again,  hast  thou  no  fetters 
For  those  of  thine  own  band  who  would  betray  thee  ? 

Robin.  I  have ;  but  these  were  never  worn  as  yet, 
I  never  found  one  traitor  in  my  band. 

******  * 

Our  forest  games  are  ended,  our  free  life, 
And  we  must  hence  to  the  King's  court.     I  trust 
We  shall  return  to  the  wood.     Meanwhile,  farewell 
Old  friends,  old  patriarch  oaks.    A  thousand  winters 
Will  strip  you  bare  as  death,  a  thousand  summers 
Robe  you  life-green  again.    You  seem,  as  it  were, 
Immortal,  and  we  mortal.    How  few  Junes 


132         SPECIAL   METHOD   IN   PRIMARY  READING 

Will  heat  our  pulses  quicker  !    How  few  frosts 
Will  chill  the  hearts  that  beat  for  Robin  Hood! 

Marian.  And  yet  I  think  these  oaks  at  dawn  and  even, 
Or  in  the  balmy  breathings  of  the  night, 
Will  whisper  evermore  of  Robin  Hood. 
We  leave  but  happy  memories  to  the  forest. 
We  dealt  in  the  wild  justice  of  the  woods. 
All  those  poor  serfs  whom  we  have  served  will  bless  us, 
All  those  pale  mouths  which  we  have  fed  will  praise  us  — 
All  widows  we  have  holpen  pray  for  us, 
Our  Lady's  blessed  shrines  throughout  the  land 
Be  all  the  richer  for  us.     You,  good  friar, 
You  Much,  you  Scarlet,  you  dear  Little  John, 
Your  names  will  cling  like  ivy  to  the  wood. 
And  here  perhaps  a  hundred  years  away 
Some  hunter  in  day-dreams  or  half  asleep 
Will  hear  our  arrows  whizzing  overhead, 
And  catch  the  winding  of  a  phantom  horn. 

Robin.  And  surely  these  old  oaks  will  murmur  thee 
Marian  along  with  Robin.     I  am  most  happy  — 
Art  thou  not  mine  ? — and  happy  that  our  King 
Is  here  again,  never  I  trust  to  roam 
So  far  again,  but  dwell  among  his  own. 
Strike  up  a  stave,  my  masters,  all  is  well. 

HOW  ROBIN  HOOD  RESCUED  THE  WIDOW'S  THREE  SONS 

Robin  Hood  and  his  followers  were  bandits  and 
outlaws,  but  the  people  loved  them  because  they 
defied  the  hateful  forest  laws  and  made  light  of  the 
sheriff.  The  king's  officers  were  responsible  for 
the  maintenance  of  order,  but  in  these  lawless  times 
they  often  used  their  power  for  their  own  advantage, 
imposing  heavy  fines  and  penalties  on  the  poor,  and 
extorting  bribes  from  the  rich.  The  following  is 


THIRD   GRADE   STORIES  133 

one  of  the  oldest  and  rudest  of  the  many  Robin  Hood 
ballads :  — 

There  are  twelve  months  in  all  the  year, 

As  I  hear  many  say, 
But  the  merriest  month  in  all  the  year 

Is  the  merry  month  of  May. 

Now  Robin  Hood  is  to  Nottingham  gone, 

With  a  link  a  down  and  a  day, 
And  there  he  met  a  silly l  old  woman, 

Was  weeping  on  the  way. 

"  What  news  ?  what  news,  thou  silly  old  woman  ? 

What  news  hast  thou  for  me  ?  " 
Said  she,  "  There's  my  three  sons  in  Nottingham  town 

To-day  condemned  to  die." 

"O,  have  they  parishes  burnt?  "  he  said, 

"  Or  have  they  ministers  slain  ? 
Or  have  they  robbed  any  virgin  ? 

Or  other  men's  wives  have  ta'en?  " 

"  They  have  no  parishes  burnt,  good  sir, 

Nor  yet  have  ministers  slain, 
Nor  have  they  robbed  any  virgin, 

Nor  other  men's  wives  have  ta'en." 

«O,  what  have  they  done?"  said  Robin  Hood, 

"  I  pray  thee  tell  to  me." 
"  It's  for  slaying  of  the  king's  fallow-deer, 

Bearing  their  long  bows  with  thee." 

"  Dost  thou  not  mind,  old  woman,"  he  said, 
"  How  thou  madest  me  sup  and  dine? 

1  simple 


134          SPECIAL   METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING 

By  the  truth  of  my  body,"  quoth  bold  Robin  Hood, 
"  You  could  not  tell  it  in  better  time." 

Now  Robin  Hood  is  to  Nottingham  gone, 

With  a  link  a  down  and  a  day, 
And  there  he  met  with  a  silly  old  palmer, 

Was  walking  along  the  highway. 

"What  news?  what  news,  thou  silly  old  man? 

What  news,  I  do  thee  pray?  " 
Said  he,  "  Three  squires  in  Nottingham  town 

Are  condemned  to  die  this  day." 

"  Come  change  thy  apparel  with  me,  old  man, 
Come  change  thy  apparel  for  mine ; 

Here  is  forty  shillings  in  good  silver, 
Go  drink  it  in  beer  or  wine." 

Now  Robin  Hood  is  to  Nottingham  gone, 
With  a  link  a  down  and  a  down, 

And  there  he  met  with  the  proud  sheriff 
Was  walking  along  the  town. 

«  O  Christ  you  save,  O  sheriff  ! "  he  said  5 

"  O  Christ  you  save  and  see ; 
And  what  will  you  give  to  a  silly  old  man 

To-day  will  your  hangman  be?" 

"  Some  suits,  some  suits,"  the  sheriff  he  said, 

"  Some  suits  I'll  give  to  thee ; 
Some  suits,  some  suits,  and  pence  thirteen, 

To-day's  a  hangman's  fee." 

Then  Robin  he  turns  him  round  about, 
And  jumps  from  stock  to  stone  : 

"By  the  truth  of  my  body,"  the  sheriff  he  said, 
"  That's  well  jumpt,  thou  nimble  old  man." 


THIRD   GRADE   STORIES  135 

"  I  was  ne'er  a  hangman  in  all  my  life, 

Nor  yet  intends  to  trade ; 
But  curst  be  he,"  said  bold  Robin, 

"  That  first  a  hangman  was  made ! 

"  I've  a  bag  for  meal,  and  a  bag  for  malt, 

And  a  bag  for  barley  and  corn ; 
A  bag  for  bread,  and  a  bag  for  beef, 

And  a  bag  for  my  little  small  horn. 

"  I  have  a  horn  in  my  pocket, 

I  got  it  from  Robin  Hood, 
And  still  when  I  set  it  to  my  mouth, 

For  thee  it  blows  little  good." 

"  O,  wind  thy  horn,  thou  proud  fellow, 

Of  thee  I  have  no  doubt. 
I  wish  that  thou  give  such  a  blast, 

Till  both  thy  eyes  fall  out." 

The  first  loud  blast  that  he  did  blow, 

He  blew  both  loud  and  shrill ; 
A  hundred  and  fifty  of  Robin  Hood's  men 

Came  riding  over  the  hill. 

The  next  loud  blast  that  he  did  give, 

He  blew  both  loud  and  amain, 
And  quickly  sixty  of  Robin  Hood's  men 

Came  shining  over  the  plain. 

"  O,  who  are  these,"  the  sheriff  he  said, 

"  Come  tripping  over  the  lea?  " 
"  They're  my  attendants,"  brave  Robin  did  say  ; 

"  They'll  pay  a  visit  to  thee." 

They  took  the  gallows  from  the  slack, 

They  set  it  in  the  glen, 
They  hanged  the  proud  sheriff  on  that, 

Released  their  own  three  men. 


136         SPECIAL   METHOD   IN  PRIMARY   READING 


ROBIN  HOOD  BOOKS 

The  Merry  Adventures  of  Robin  Hood  (Howard  Pyle).    Finely 

illustrated,  $3.00.     Scribner's  Sons. 
Some  Adventures  of  Robin  Hood  (Pyle).     Small  school  edition, 

illustrated ;  Scribner's  Sons. 
Tennyson's  The  Foresters. 

The  Robin  Hood  ballads  are  found  in  many  of  the  ballad  books. 
Ivanhoe  contains  several  scenes  from  the  life  of  Robin  Hood 

(Locksley). 


CHAPTER  VI 

PRIMARY  READING  THROUGH  INCIDENTAL  EXERCISES 
AND  GAMES 

BASED  ON  SCHOOL  MOVEMENTS,  STUDIES,  AND  GAMES 

BEFORE  entering  upon  the  discussion  of  the  usual 
methods  of  introducing  children  to  the  art  of  reading 
we  will  give  a  treatment  of  the  incidental  opportuni- 
ties offered  by  the  other  studies,  by  school  move- 
ments and  games  in  primary  classes,  for  introducing 
children  to  the  written  and  printed  forms. 

It  is  assumed  that  the  more  closely  the  written  or 
printed  words  and  sentences  are  related  to  the  chil- 
dren's activities,  or  the  more  dependent  these  activi- 
ties are  made  upon  a  knowledge  of  the  word-forms, 
the  quicker  and  more  natural  will  be  their  mastery. 
To  put  it  briefly,  the  teacher  abstains  from  the  use  of 
oral  speech  to  a  considerable  extent  and  substitutes 
the  written  forms  of  the  words  on  the  blackboard  in 
giving  directions,  in  games,  and  in  treating  topics 
in  literature  and  science.  The  following  chapter  is 
taken  wholly  from  the  lessons  given  by  Mrs.  Lida  B. 
McMurry  in  the  first  grade.  Many  other  similar 
lessons  were  worked  out,  but  these  are  probably 
sufficient  to  fully  illustrate  the  plan. 


138         SPECIAL   METHOD   IN   PRIMARY  READING 

The  teacher's  aim  in  the  beginning  reading  is  to 
lead  the  child  to  look  to  the  lesson,  either  word  or 
sentence  or  paragraph,  to  find  what  it  has  to  say  to 
him — to  present  the  lesson  in  such  a  way  that  the 
child  shall  quicken  into  life  in  its  presence  —  shall 
reach  forward  to  grasp  this  much-desired  thing.  The 
attention  of  the  child  is  centred  on  the  thought ;  he 
grasps  the  symbols  because  he  must  reach,  through 
them,  the  thought. 

Much  of  the  early  reading  can  be  taught  in  a 
purely  incidental  way  —  in  the  general  exercises  of 
the  school  and  in  the  literature  and  nature-study 
recitations. 

READING  TAUGHT   INCIDENTALLY 

(a)  In  the  General  Management  of  the  School.  The 
directions  which  are  at  first  given  to  children  orally, 
e.g.,  rise,  turn,  pass,  sit,  skip,  fly,  march,  run,  walk, 
pass  to  the  front,  pass  to  the  back,  are  later  written 
upon  the  board.  When  the  children  seem  to  have 
become  familiar  with  the  written  direction,  the 
order  in  which  the  directions  are  given  is  some- 
times changed,  as  a  test,  e.g.,  the  following  direc- 
tions are  usually  given  in  this  order — turn,  rise,  pass. 
Instead  of  writing  turn  first,  the  teacher  writes  pass. 
If  the  children  understand,  they  will  rise  at  once  and 
pass  without  waiting  to  turn. 

The  names  of  the  children,  instead  of  being  spoken, 
are  often  written;  in  this  way  the  children  become 


INCIDENTAL   READING  139 

familiar  with  the  names  of  all  the  children  in  the 
school.  The  teacher,  writing  Clarence  upon  the  board, 
says,  "  I  would  like  this  boy  to  erase  the  boards 
to-night."  The  first  time  it  is  written  the  teacher 
speaks  the  name  as  she  writes  it.  It  may  be  neces- 
sary to  do  this  several  times.  The  teacher  does  not 
look  at  Clarence  as  she  writes  his  name.  If  he  does 
not  recognize  his  name  after  it  has  appeared  repeat- 
edly, his  eyesight  may  well  be  tested.  If  heedless- 
ness  is  the  cause  of  the  failure,  another  name  is 
written  at  the  board,  and  Clarence  loses  the  opportu- 
nity to  do  the  service.  No  drill  should  be  given  on 
these  names.  The  repetition  incident  to  the  frequent 
calling  upon  the  child  is  all  that  is  necessary  to  fix 
the  name. 

The  names  of  the  songs  and  of  the  poems  which 
the  children  are  memorizing  are  written  upon  the 
board  as  needed.  The  teacher  says,  "  We  will  sing 
this  song  this  morning."  If  the  children  do  not 
recognize  its  title  as  the  teacher  points  to  it,  she 
gives  it.  After  a  while  the  children  will  recognize 
the  names  of  all  the  songs  and  the  poems  which 
are  in  use  in  the  room. 

The  children  become  familiar  with  the  written 
form  of  the  smaller  numbers  in  this  way  —  the 
number  of  absent  children  is  reported  at  each 
session  and  written  on  the  board.  On  Friday  the 
teacher  records  upon  the  board  some  facts  of  the 
week,  or  of  the  month,  which  the  children  learned 


I4O          SPECIAL   METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING 

from  their  weather  charts  —  viz.,  the  number  of 
sunny  and  the  number  of  cloudy  days.  The  number 
of  children  in  each  row  is  ascertained  and  written  at 
the  board  that  the  monitors  may  know  how  many 
pairs  of  scissors,  pieces  of  clay,  or  pencils  to  select. 

The  poems,  after  being  partially  committed  to 
memory,  are  written  upon  the  board ;  when  the 
pupils  falter,  reference  is  made  to  the  line  in  ques- 
tion as  it  appears  upon  the  board. 

The  teacher  sometimes  writes  her  morning  greet- 
ing or  evening  farewell  at  the  board  —  thus:  "Good 
morning,  children,"  or,  "  Good-by  for  to-day."  The 
children  read  silently  and  respond  with,  "  Good  morn- 
ing, Miss  Eades,"  or,  "  Good  night,  Miss  Farr." 

Often  she  communicates  facts  of  interest  at  the 
board.  If  the  pupils  are  unable  to  interpret  what 
she  has  written,  she  reads  for  them,  e.g.,  the  teacher 
writes,  "  We  have  vacation  to-morrow."  Quite  likely 
some  child,  unable  to  read  at  all,  will  say,  "  We  have 
something,  but  I  can't  tell  what  it  is."  (These  same 
words  will  occur  again,  when  needed  to  express  a 
thought,  and  it  is  a  waste  of  energy  to  drill  upon 
them.)  When  the  children  have  interpreted  the 
above  sentence  at  the  board,  the  teacher  writes,  "  Do 
you  know  why?"  The  children  read  the  question 
silently  and  give  the  answer  audibly,  and  say,  "  It  is 
Decoration  Day."  We  too  often  allow  children  to 
treat  a  question  in  their  reading  as  if  its  end  were 
reached  in  the  asking.  To  lead  the  children  to  form 


INCIDENTAL   READING  14! 

a  habit  of  answering  questions  asked  in  writing  or  in 
print,  such  questions  as  the  following  are,  from  time 
to  time,  written  at  the  board :  "  Did  you  see  the  rain- 
bow last  night  ? "  "  What  color  was  it  ? "  "  Did  you 
see  any  birds  on  Saturday  ? "  "  What  ones  ? "  "Have 
you  been  to  the  woods  ? "  "  What  did  you  find  there  ? " 

(b)  In  Connection  with  the  Literature.  The  name 
of  the  story  which  the  teacher  is  about  to  tell  is 
placed  upon  the  board.  At  the  first  writing  the 
teacher  tells  the  pupils  what  it  is,  if  necessary,  e.g., 
the  teacher  says,  "We  shall  have  a  story  about  *Tke 
Three  Bears?  "  pointing  to  the  title  upon  the  board. 
The  next  day  she  says,  "  I  would  like  you  to  tell  me 
all  you  can  about  this  story  "  —  writing  its  name  upon 
the  board. 

In  the  final  reproduction  of  the  story  the  teacher 
assigns  topics,  e.g. :  Chauncey  may  tell  me  about 
this  (writing  at  the  board):  Silver-Hair  going  to 
the  woods.  Eva  may  tell  about  this:  Silver-Hair 
going  into  the  kitchen.  Jennie  may  tell  about  this : 
Silver-Hair  going  into  the  sitting  room.  Willie  may 
tell  about  this  :  Silver-Hair  going  upstairs.  Should 
the  child  go  beyond  the  limited  topic,  the  teacher 
points  to  the  board  and  asks  about  what  he  was  to 
tell. 

At  the  close  of  each  story  that  can  be  dramatized, 
the  teacher  assigns  at  the  board  the  part  which  each 
is  to  take,  thus  :  After  the  story  of  "  The  Old  Woman 
and  the  Pig  "  is  learned,  the  teacher  writes  in  a  col- 


142          SPECIAL   METHOD    IN   PRIMARY   READING 

umn  each  child's  name  opposite  the  animal  or  thing 
which  he  is  to  represent,  in  this  way. 

Agnes  —  the  old  woman. 

Glenn  —  the  pig. 

Sadie  —  the  dog,  etc. 

(c)  In  Connection  with  the  Nature  Study.  In  the 
spring  the  children  are  looking  for  the  return  of  the 
birds,  the  first  spring  blossoms,  and  the  opening  of 
the  tree  buds.  The  teacher  often  makes  her  own  dis- 
coveries known  through  writing,  upon  the  board,  e.g., 
"I  saw  a  robin  this  morning,"  or  "I  found  a  blue 
violet  yesterday,"  or  "  I  saw  some  elm  blossoms  last 
night." 

The  class,  by  the  aid  of  the  teacher,  make  a  bird, 
a  flower,  and  a  tree-bud  calendar,  on  which  are  re- 
corded the  name  and  date  of  the  first  seen  of  each. 
These  names  are  put  on  the  calendars  in  the  presence 
of  the  children,  and  they  frequently  "name  their 
treasures  o'er." 

The  mode  of  travelling  is  written  beside  the  name 
of  each  familiar  bird  as  the  children  make  the  dis- 
coveries, thus :  — 


( hops. 

_         (walks. 
Crow  1 

(flies. 


Robin  •<  runs.  Crow  <  „. 


Questions  arise  during  the  recitation  which  the 
children  will  answer  later  from  observation.  That 
the  children  may  not  forget  them  they  are  placed 
high  up  on  the  board  where  they  can  be  preserved. 


INCIDENTAL   READING  143 

Frequent  reference  is  made  to  them  to  see  if  the 
pupils  are  prepared  to  answer  them.  When  a  ques- 
tion is  answered  it  is  erased,  making  room  for  another. 

THE  READING   RECITATION 

For  the  early  reading,  Games,  Literature,  and 
Nature  Study  may  form  the  basis. 

(I)  Games  as  a  Basis  for  the  Reading.  The  child 
enters  school  from  a  life  of  play.  It  is  our  purpose, 
so  far  as  possible,  to  make  use  of  this  natural  bent  of 
the  child  to  insure  interest  in  his  reading,  as  well  as 
to  give  him  the  free  exercise,  which  he  needs,  of  his 
muscles.  It  may  be  urged  as  an  argument  against  the 
use  of  the  games,  that  they  are  too  noisy  and  attract 
the  attention  of  the  children  who  are  busy  at  their 
seats.  Often  it  would  be  a  good  thing  for  these  chil- 
dren to  watch  the  younger  ones  at  their  games.  It 
would  rest  them  and  put  them  into  closer  sympathy 
with  the  little  ones.  In  a  short  time  they  will  not 
care  so  much  to  watch  them.  The  little  children 
should  be  thoughtful  of  the  older  ones  and  move  about 
as  quietly  as  is  possible. 

The  following  are  some  of  the  games  which  we  have 
used  in  our  primary  school.  They  are  given  in  the 
way  of  suggestion  only.  They  are  played  at  first  by 
following  spoken  directions.  When  the  children  are 
perfectly  familiar  with  the  oral  direction,  the  written 
direction  is  gradually  substituted.  The  children  do 
not  stay  long  enough  on  one  game  to  become  tired  of 


144         SPECIAL   METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING 

it.  Two  or  three  or  even  more  are  played  at  a  single 
recitation.  It  is  not  the  plan  to  drill  the  pupils  upon 
the  written  directions,  but  by  frequent  repetitions  to 
familiarize  them  with  them.  The  games  are  most 
suitable  for  the  very  earliest  reading  lessons.  The 
plan  for  teaching  one  of  them,  the  first  one  given 
here,  will  be  written  out  quite  fully.  The  others  will 
be  given  with  less  detail. 

THE   RING   GAME 

Material.  —  Six  celluloid  rings,  red,  white,  blue,  yel- 
low, green,  and  black.  Surcingle  rings  can  be  painted 
the  colors  desired. 

Directions.  —  Take  the  red  ring,  Jennie. 
Take  the  blue  ring,  Eva. 
Take  the  yellow  ring,  Wallace. 
Take  the  green  ring,  Chauncey. 
Take  the  black  ring,  Gregory. 
Take  the  white  ring,  Lloyd. 

When  the  children  are  ready  to  hide  the  rings  this 
direction  is  given  to  the  remainder  of  the  class :  — 

Close  your  eyes. 

This  to  the  pupils  who  hold  the  rings :  — 
Hide  the  rings. 

When  the  children  have  all  the  rings  hid  they  an- 
nounce it  by  lightly  clapping  their  hands,  upon  which 


INCIDENTAL   READING  145 

the  children  open  their  eyes.     Directions  are  then 
given  to  those  who  did  not  hide  rings,  for  finding  the 

rings,  e.g.:  — 

Find  the  red  ring. 

Find  the  blue  ring,  etc. 

No  notice  is  taken  of  any  ring  but  the  one  called 
for.  A  limited  time  is  given  for  the  finding  of  each. 
At  the  close  of  that  time,  if  the  ring  is  not  discovered, 
the  one  who  hid  it  gets  it.  When  the  written  direc- 
tions are  first  used  the  whole  sentence  need  not  be 
put  upon  the  board,  e.g.,  the  teacher  need  write  only  — 
the  red  ring.  She  says  to  the  child,  "  find  this  "  — 
pointing  to  the  board ;  or  red,  alone,  may  be  written, 
in  which  case  the  teacher  points  to  the  word,  saying, 
"You  may  find  this  ring"  There  is  considerable 
rivalry  to  see  who  will  find  the  most  rings. 

When  the  children  seem  to  know  the  written  di- 
rections perfectly,  a  test  is  made  of  their  ability, 
actually,  to  read  them ;  thus,  instead  of  writing, 
"Take  the  red  ring,"  the  teacher  writes,  "Find  the 
red  ring."  She  writes  "  Hide  the  rings,"  before  she 
writes,  "  Close  your  eyes."  If  the  children  recog- 
nize what  is  written  they  will  set  the  teacher  right. 

BALL   AND   CORD 

Material.  —  Small,  soft  rubber  balls  with  short  rub- 
ber cords  attached.  The  cords  have  a  loop  for  the 
finger. 


146          SPECIAL   METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING 

Ball  in  right  hand. 
Toss  up. 

Hold. 
Toss  down. 

Hold. 
Toss  to  the  right 

Hold. 
Toss  to  the  left. 

Hold. 

Ball  in  left  hand. 
Toss  up,  etc. 

In  this  and  succeeding  games  it  is  left  to  the  dis- 
cretion of  the  teacher  as  to  when  the  written  direc- 
tions shall  be  introduced. 

BALL   GAME 

Material.  —  A  soft  rubber  ball. 

Form  a  circle. 
Take  the  ball,  Roy. 
Toss  the  ball. 
Roll  the  ball. 
Bounce  the  ball. 
Throw  the  ball. 
Give  the  ball  to  Sadie. 

In  this  game  one  of  the  children  takes  the  ball  to 
the  circle.  Each,  as  the  ball  is  tossed  to  him,  tosses 
it  to  another.  At  the  direction  of  the  teacher  the 
game  of  tossing  the  ball  is  changed  to  one  of  rolling 


INCIDENTAL   READING  147 

the  ball,  the  pupils  squatting  on  the  floor;  this  in 
turn  is  changed  later  as  the  directions  indicate. 
Care  must  be  taken  that  all  children  are  treated 
alike  in  this  game.  The  children  themselves  will 
look  out  for  this  if  properly  directed  at  the  outset 
of  the  game. 

HUNTING  THE  VIOLET 

Material.  —  Violets  scattered  about  the  room. 

Find  a  blue  violet,  Glenn. 
Find  a  violet  bud,  Edith. 
Find  a  yellow  violet,  Lloyd. 
Find  a  violet  leaf,  Sadie. 
Find  a  white  violet,  Jennie. 
Find  a  purple  violet,  Rudolph. 
Sing  to  the  violets. 

Children  sing  softly :  — 

"  Oh,  violets,  pretty  violets, 

I  pray  you  tell  to  me 
Why  are  you  the  first  flowers 
That  bloom  upon  the  lea?"  etc. 

A  TREE   GAME  —  (SPRING  OR  FALL) 

Material.  —  Leaves  of  the  different  trees  with  which 
the  children  are  familiar. 

Glenn  may  be  a  maple  tree. 

Choose  your  leaf. 
Wallace  may  be  an  elm  tree. 
Choose  your  leaf. 


148          SPECIAL   METHOD    IN   PRIMARY   READING 

Chauncey  may  be  a  birch  tree. 
Choose  your  leaf,  etc. 
Make  a  little  forest. 
Toss  in  the  wind. 

(The  leaves  are  pinned  upon  the  children  as  each 
chooses  his  leaf,  and  they  dance  lightly  about  as  if 
tossed  by  the  wind.) 

CARING   FOR  THE  ANIMALS 

Material. — Wooden  or  paper  animals.  A  portion 
of  the  table  is  marked  off  by  a  chalk  line  for  the 
farmyard. 

Drive  in  a  pig,  Willie. 

Lead  in  a  horse,  Gregory. 

Drive  in  a  sheep,  Sadie. 

Lead  in  a  cow,  Roy,  etc. 

They  are  driven  in  at  night,  then  driven  out  in  the 
morning.  Sometimes  they  are  hurried  in  because  of 
the  approach  of  a  storm. 

DOLL  PLAY  —  (GENERAL) 
Material.  —  Penny  dolls  or  larger  ones. 

Take  a  doll. 

Rock  the  baby. 

Pat  the  baby. 

Sing  the  baby  to  sleep. 

Put  the  baby  to  bed. 


INCIDENTAL   READING  149 

Take  up  the  baby. 
Wash  its  face. 
Comb  its  hair. 
Feed  it  bread  and  milk. 
Take  it  for  a  walk. 

At  the  direction,  "Sing  the  baby  to  sleep,"  the 
children  sing  very  softly  :  — 

"  Rock-a-bye  Baby,"  —  or  some  other  lullaby. 

The  bed  is  the  chair  on  which  the  child  is  sitting. 
All  stand  and  turn  about  together  to  put  the 
babies  to  bed.  They  go  through  the  movements 
only  of  washing  the  face  and  hands  and  combing 
the  hair,  and  of  feeding  bread  and  milk.  They  per- 
form these  acts  in  unison. 

THE   RAINBOW  FAIRIES — (SPRING) 

Material.  —  Large  bows  of  tissue  paper  with 
streamers,  of  the  various  colors  mentioned. 

Eva  may  be  a  yellow  fairy. 
Roy  may  be  a  blue  fairy. 
Edith  may  be  a  green  fairy. 
Louise  may  be  a  red  fairy. 
Lloyd  may  be  an  orange  fairy. 
Sadie  may  be  a  violet  fairy. 
The  others  may  be  trees. 
Join  hands,  fairies. 
Dance  about  the  trees. 


I5O         SPECIAL   METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING 

As  the  first  direction  is  given  Eva  steps  to  the 
table  and  takes  a  yellow  bow  which  is  pinned  to 
her  left  shoulder :  the  others  follow  as  called  upon. 

THE   LEAVES 

Material.  —  A  leaf  of  one  of  several  colors  pinned 
on  each  child.  The  wind  calls :  — 

Come  yellow  leaf. 
Come  red  leaf. 
Come  green  leaves,  etc. 
Dance  in  the  wind. 

At  the  last  direction  the  children  fly  over  a 
small  area,  hither  and  thither ;  some  one  way,  some 
another,  passing  and  repassing  one  another,  simulat- 
ing the  leaves  in  a  storm. 

A   FLOCK   OF   BIRDS 

All  the  children  are  little  birds. 
Fly  to  the  fields. 
Pick  up  seeds. 
Take  a  drink. 
Bathe  in  the  creek. 
Preen  your  feathers. 
Fly  home. 
Perch  on  a  twig. 

They  sing:-  SinS' 

"We  are  little  birdies, 

Happy  we,  happy  we. 
We  are  little  birdies 
Singing  in  a  tree." 


INCIDENTAL    READING  !$! 

HUNTING   BIRDS 

Material.  —  Colored  pictures  of  birds  common  to 
the  locality  in  which  the  game  is  used. 

Find  a  robin,  Rudolph. 

Find  a  bluebird,  Gregory,  etc. 

The  child  indicated  finds  the  picture  of  the  bird 
called  for  and  places  it  on  the  blackboard  ledge 
which  serves  as  a  picture  gallery. 

HUNTING  LEAVES 

is  a  game  similar  to  the  above. 

MOVEMENT   GAME 

Frederick  may  be  a  pony. 
Louise  may  be  a  kitty,  etc. 

(Of  the  other  children  —  one  may  be  a  boy ;  another, 
a  bird ;  another,  a  horse ;  another,  a  fish ;  another,  a 

girl,  etc.) 

Trot,  pony. 

Run,  dog. 
Skip,  boy,  etc. 

They  perform  singly,  and  also  in  a  body. 

MAKING   GARDEN 

Material.  —  Trays  or  box-covers  of  sand,  and  a  toy 
set  of  garden  tools  for  each  pupil. 


152         SPECIAL   METHOD   IN   PRIMARY  READING 

Take  the  spade. 

Spade  the  earth. 

Take  the  hoe. 

Hoe  the  ground. 

Take  the  rake. 

Smooth  the  ground. 

Make  holes  (or  rows). 

Plant  corn  (or  sow  the  seed). 

Cover  the  seed. 

Water  the  garden. 

THE  FARMER'S  PETS 

For  this  game  the  children  are  all  seated  in  chairs 
except  one  for  whom  no  chair  is  provided.  Each 
child  seated  takes  the  name  of  some  animal  on  the 
farm,  e.g.,  a  dog,  cat,  horse,  chicken,  duck,  or  cow. 
The  one  standing  is  the  farm-hand  and  says,  e.g., 
"  My  master  wants  his  dog."  The  dog  must  jump  up 
and  turn  around.  If  he  fails  to  do  so,  he  steps  to  one 
side  taking  his  chair  with  him.  If  when  he  is  again 
called  upon  he  answers  correctly,  he  resumes  his  seat 
in  the  circle.  Occasionally  the  farm-hand  says,  "  My 
master  wants  all  of  his  pets."  When  all  rise  and 
change  seats  quietly.  The  farm-hand  tries  to  get  a 
seat,  leaving  another  child  to  be  the  farm-hand.  In 
changing  seats  they  change  names  as  a  single  name 
belongs  to  each  chair. 

(II)  Literattire  as  a  Basis  for  the  Reading.  The 
stories  in  the  form  indicated  below  are  given  after 


INCIDENTAL   READING  153 

the  children  have  become  thoroughly  familiar  with 
them  through  oral  presentation,  after,  too,  the  chil- 
dren have  gained  some  facility  in  reading,  through 
the  use  of  the  games,  and  the  directions,  etc.,  used  in 
the  general  management  of  the  school.  Before  the 
board  work  is  presented  the  children  dramatize 
the  story  which  they  are  to  read.  They  look  to 
the  board  to  find  out  what  to  say  that  they  may  im- 
personate the  character  in  the  story.  Each  mimics 
in  tone  and  action  the  one  whose  part  he  takes.  As 
no  two  mimic  in  the  same  way  there  is  no  lack  of 
variety  and  interest.  If  the  children  are  thoughtful 
they  will  know  every  time  into  whose  mouth  to  put 
each  sentence.  They  need  to  be  alert,  however.  The 
names  of  the  speakers,  given  in  the  margin,  are  for 
the  benefit  of  the  readers  of  this  article.  They  are 
not  put  on  the  board.  The  children  do  not  need 
them. 

THE  OLD   WOMAN  AND  THE  PIG 


The  old  woman.   I  was  sweeping  my  house. 
I  found  this  dime. 
What  shall  I  buy? 
I  know ;  I  will  buy  a  pig. 
Where  is  my  sunbonnet  ? 
Where  is  my  cane  ? 
Here  I  go. 
Tramp !  tramp !  tramp ! 


154 


SPECIAL    METHOD    IN    PRIMARY   READING 


II. 

Old  woman.   Tap,  tap,  tap ! 
The  farmer.    Come  in. 

Good  morning,  old  woman. 
Old  woman.    Good  morning,  sir. 

I  want  to  buy  a  pig. 
Farmer.   All  right ;  I  have  some. 
Will  you  look  at  them  ? 
Here  they  are. 
Old  woman.    I  like  this  one. 
I  will  take  it. 
Good  morning. 
Farmer.    Good  morning. 

in 
Old  woman.    Go  on,  pig. 

That  fence  is  low, 
You  can  jump  over. 
Pig.   Grunt !  grunt ! 
Old  woman.   What  shall  I  do  ? 
I  must  have  help. 
I  will  go  back. 

IV 

Old  woman.    Dog,  dog,  bite  pig. 

Dog.    No,  no.     (Shaking  his  head.) 


Old  woman.    Stick,  stick,  whip  dog. 

Stick.    No,  no.     (Shaking  head  as  before) 


INCIDENTAL    READING  I  55 

vi-xn.     Similar  to  two  above. 

XIII 

Old  woman.   Cat,  cat,  kill  rat. 

Cat.   I  will  if  you  will  give  me  some  milk. 
Old  woman.   I  will  go  to  the  cow. 

xrv 
Old  woman.   Cow,  cow,  give  me  some  milk. 

Cow.   I  will  if  you  will  give  me  some  hay. 
Old  woman.   All  right. 

Tramp  !  tramp !  tramp ! 
Here  is  the  hay,  cow. 
Cow.   Chew,  chew,  chew,  chew. 

Now  you  may  have  some  milk. 
Old  woman.   Thank  you,  cow. 

xv 
Old  woman.   Come,  kitty,  kitty,  kitty. 

Here  is  some  milk  for  you. 
Cat.   Lap,  lap,  lap,  lap. 
Old  woman.   Now  catch  the  rat. 

Cat.  Patter,  patter,  patter.  (Given  softly 
—  it  is  the  cat  running  after  the 
rat.) 

THE  THREE   BEARS 

I 

The  papa  bear.   That  soup  is  hot 
It  must  cool. 
We  will  take  a  walk. 


SPECIAL   METHOD  IN  PRIMARY   READING 
II 

Silver-Hair.  Tap!  tap!  tap! 

No  one  at  home. 

I  will  go  in. 

What  is  that  on  the  table? 

It  is  three  bowls  of  soup. 

I  am  hungry. 
(Tasting  of  the  soup  in  the  big  bowl.) 

That  is  too  hot. 
(Tasting  of  soup  in  'middle-sized  bowl.) 

That  is  too  cold. 
(Tasting  of  soup  in  little  bowl) 

That  is  just  right 

It  is  good. 

I  will  eat  a  little. 

in 

I  am  tired. 

Here  are  three  chairs. 
That  is  too  high. 
That  is  too  wide. 
This  is  just  right. 
I  will  rest  here. 
Oh,  it  broke ! 

rv 

I  am  sleepy. 
I  will  go  upstairs. 
Here  are  three  beds. 
That  is  too  hard. 


INCIDENTAL   READING  157 

That  is  too  soft. 
This  is  just  right 
I  will  sleep  here. 

v 

Papa  bear.   SOMEBODY  HAS  BEEN  TASTING  MY  SOUP. 
Mamma  bear.    Somebody  has  been  tasting  my  soup. 
Baby  bear. ,  Somebody  has  been  tasting  my  soup. 
It  is  all  gone. 

VI 

Papa  bear.   SOMEBODY  HAS  BEEN  SITTING  IN   MY 

CHAIR. 

Mamma  bear.    Somebody  has  been  sitting  in  my  chair. 
Baby  bear.    Somebody  has  been  sitting  in  my  chair. 
It  is  all  broken. 

VII 

Papa  bear.   SOMEBODY  HAS  BEEN  LYING  ON  MY  BED. 
Mamma  bear.    Somebody  has  been  lying  on  my  bed. 
Baby  bear.   Somebody  has  been  lying  on  my  bed 

Why,  here  she  is ! 
Silver-Hair.    Oh,  my! 

I  will  jump. 
Now  I  will  run. 

THE  FIR  TREE 
I 

I  am  a  little  fir  tree. 
I  want  to  be  tall. 
I  hate  rabbits. 
They  jump  over  me. 


158         SPECIAL   METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING 

II 

I  am  three  years  old. 

The  rabbit  cannot  jump  over  me  now. 

It  runs  around  me. 

I  wish  I  were  taller. 

I  hate  to  be  so  little. 

in 

Now  I  am  six  years  old. 
Here  come  the  woodchoppers. 
They  will  take  me  away. 
Here  I  go. 
Thump !  thump !  thump ! 

IV 

What  a  fine  house. 

How  beautiful  this  moss  is. 

What  are  these  people  going  to  give  me  ? 

I  am  so  happy  ! 

v 

Here  are  the  children. 
How  they  like  me ! 
See  them  dance  about  me. 
Everybody  looks  at  me. 
Do  not  take  away  my  beautiful  dress. 
Do  not  put  out  the  lights. 

VI 

Here  come  the  servants. 

They  will  give  me  my  beautiful  dress. 


INCIDENTAL    READING  1 59 

Oh,  oh,  oh ! 

Don't  put  me  up  there. 

It  is  dark. 

I  want  to  be  planted. 

VII 

I  wish  I  were  at  home. 

I  want  to  see  the  rabbit 

It  may  jump  over  me. 

I  will  not  care. 

I  want  to  see  the  other  trees. 

The  rats  come.     I  do  not  like  rats. 

VIII 

Out  again ! 

I  like  the  air. 

Now  I  shall  be  planted. 

I  am  glad  to  see  the  flowers. 

I  am  glad  to  hear  the  birds. 

Now  I  shall  live. 

IX 

That  boy  called  me  ugly. 
He  took  my  beautiful  star. 
I  wish  I  were  in  the  woods. 
I  shall  never  be  happy  again. 
Pop  !  pop !  pop !  pop ! 

THE  STREET   MUSICIANS 

I 

The  donkey.   I  am  very  old. 
I  am  very  weak. 


l6O         SPECIAL  METHOD   IN  PRIMARY  READING 

I  can  work  no  more. 

My  master  will  not  keep  me. 

I  will  run  away. 

I  will  go  to  the  city. 

I  can  make  music. 

I  will  join  a  band. 

Trot!  trot!  trot! 

ii 

What  is  that  in  the  road  ? 
It  is  an  old  dog. 
What  is  the  matter  ? 
Dog.   I  am  very  old. 
I  am  very  weak. 
I  cannot  hunt 

My  master  will  not  keep  me. 
How  can  I  live  ? 
Donkey.   Come  with  me. 

You  can  play  the  bass  drum. 
Join  a  band. 
Dog.    Good  !  good !  good ! 

I  will  go. 
Dog  and  donkey.   Trot!  trot!  trot! 

in 

Donkey.  What  is  that  in  the  road  ? 
It  is  an  old  cat. 

What  is  the  matter,  old  whiskers  ? 
Cat.   I  am  very  old. 
I  am  very  weak. 


INCIDENTAL   READING  l6l 

I  cannot  catch  mice. 
My  mistress  will  not  keep  me. 
How  can  I  live  ? 
Donkey.   Come  with  us. 
You  can  sing. 
Join  a  band. 
Cat.   Good!  good!  good! 

I  will  go. 
All  three.  Trot!  trot!  trot! 

rv 
Donkey.  What  is  that  on  the  gate  ? 

It  is  a  rooster. 

What  is  the  matter  ? 
Rooster.   The  cook  will  kill  me. 
Donkey.   Come  with  us. 

You  can  sing.   , 

Join  a  band. 
Rooster.    Good !  good !  good ! 

I  will  go. 
All  four.  Trot!  trot!  trot! 

THE  UNHAPPY  PINE  TREE 

I 

I  am  a  little  pine  tree. 

I  do  not  like  to  be  a  pine  tree. 

My  leaves  are  needles. 

Needles  are  not  pretty. 

I  wish  I  had  gold  leaves. 


1 62         SPECIAL    METHOD    IN   PRIMARY    READING 

II 

In  the  morning.   Why  do  the  trees  look  at  me? 
What  has  happened  ? 
Gold  leaves !    Gold  leaves ! 
Just  what  I  wanted  ! 
Good!  good!  good! 

in 

To  the  robber.   Do  not  take  my  leaves. 
I  want  them. 
They  are  beautiful. 
Give  them  back. 
No  leaves !     No  leaves ! 
I  wish  I  had  glass  leaves. 

IV 

In  the  morning.   Oh,  how  beautiful ! 

Glass  leaves !     Glass  leaves ! 
No  robber  will  take  them. 
I  can  keep  them. 
I  am  so  happy ! 

v 

Cloud,  do  not  come. 
Wind,  do  not  blow. 
Keep  still,  keep  still. 
A  leaf  is  broken. 
Another !     Another ! 
All  gone !     All  gone ! 
No  beautiful  leaves. 
I  wish  I  had  bright  green  leaves. 


INCIDENTAL   READING  163 

VI 

In  the  morning.   Oh,  my  pretty  green  leaves! 
No  one  will  steal  them. 
Nothing  will  break  them. 
I  shall  not  need  to  keep  still. 
I  will  dance. 
Dance!  dance!  dance! 

VII 

Goat,  do  not  come  here. 

These  are  my  leaves. 

I  want  them. 

They  are  pretty. 

Oh,  oh,  oh ! 

All  my  pretty  leaves  are  gone. 

What  shall  I  do  ? 

I  wish  I  had  my  needles. 

VIII 

Oh,  mother,  mother,  see ! 

I  have  my  old  leaves. 

I  like  them. 

They  are  best  of  all. 

No  one  will  steal  them. 

Nothing  will  break  them. 

Nothing  will  eat  them. 

I  can  keep  them. 

My  dear  old  leaves  ! 

(Ill)  Nature  Study  as  a  Basis  for  the  Reading. 
The  subjects  in  which  the  pupils  are  most  interested 
are  made  the  basis  for  the  reading  lessons. 


1 64          SPECIAL    METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING 

Sometimes  there  is  a  guessing  game  like  the  fol- 
lowing :  The  teacher,  holding  a  flower  in  her  closed 
hand,  writes :  — 

Guess  what  I  have. 
It  is  a  flower. 
It  is  white. 
//  has  a  yellow  centre. 
(The  children  answer  —  a  daisy.)    Or  — 
Guess  what  I  have. 
It  is  a  leaf. 
It  is  yellow. 
It  is  long. 
It  is  narrow. 

(The  children  answer  —  the  willow.) 
After  the  pupils  have  made  a  careful  study  of  a 
few  birds  or  flowers,   the  reading  lesson  describes 
one  of  these,  and  the  pupils  are  expected  to  name 
it  from  the  description.     If  a  child  gives  the  wrong 
name,  one  of  those  who  know  better  points  out  the 
line  or  lines  barring  out  this  object,  and  reads  to  the 
one  making  the  mistake  as  proof  of  his  error. 
I  live  in  the  woods. 
I  am  not  a  bird. 
I  am  not  a  flower. 
I  am  not  a  tree. 
I  run  up  trees. 
I  eat  nuts. 
I  have  a  bushy  tail. 
What  is  my  name  ?    (Squirrel.) 


INCIDENTAL   HEADING  1 6$ 

I  am  a  little  bird. 

My  back  is  brown. 

My  breast  is  white. 

My  bill  is  curved. 

I  go  up  a  tree  trunk. 

I  fly  to  another  tree. 

I  like  insects. 

What  is  my  name  ?    (The  brown  creeper^) 

This  is  a  big  bird. 

It  is  blue. 

It  has  black  bands  on  its  tail  and  wings. 

It  has  a  crest. 

Its  bill  is  black. 

It  scolds. 

What  is  its  name  ?    (The  blue  jay.) 

The  children  sometimes  play  a  game  like  the  fol- 
lowing :  All  but  one  personify  red-headed  wood- 
peckers. The  one  questions  from  the  board.  If  a 
red-headed  woodpecker  fails  to  answer  the  question 
put  to  him,  he  takes  the  place  of  the  interlocutor. 
It  is  an  honor  to  be  able  to  answer  all  the  questions 

put: — 

What  color  is  your  head  ? 

What  color  is  your  throat  ? 
What  color  is  your  breast  ? 
What  colors  on  your  wings  ? 
What  color  is  your  bill  ? 
What  do  you  do  ? 
Where  do  you  make  your  nest  ? 


1 66          SPECIAL   METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING 

To  a  set  of  questions  like  the  following,  the  chil- 
dren give  the  answers,  after  reading  the  questions 
silently :  — 

What  bird  did  you  first  see  this  spring  ? 

What  have  you  seen  a  robin  do  ? 

What  flower  did  you  see  first  ? 

What  yellow  flowers  have  you  seen  this  spring  ? 

What  white  flowers  ? 

What  blue  flowers  ? 

What  bird  builds  a  nest  in  a  tree  trunk  ? 

What  bird  builds  a  nest  on  the  ground  ? 

THE   BABY   ROBIN 

I  saw  two  robins  on  the  ground. 

One  was  a  mamma  robin. 

The  other  was  a  baby  robin. 

The  baby  robin  was  as  big  as  its  mother. 

Its  breast  was  spotted. 

Its  mother  gave  it  an  earthworm. 

At  first  it  dropped  it,  but  its  mother  picked  it  up 
and  gave  it  to  her  baby  again. 

This  time  it  got  a  better  hold.  By  several  gulps 
it  swallowed  the  worm. 

The  mother  looked  proud  of  her  baby.  (This  is 
the  teacher's  experience  which  she  tells  the  children 
from  the  board.  Sometimes  she  writes  the  observa- 
tions which  one  of  the  children  have  made.) 

As  no  two  teachers  will  have  the  same  material 


INCIDENTAL   READING  167 

for  Nature  Study,  the  reading  material  will  not  be 
multiplied  here. 

Gradually,  as  the  pupils  can  stand  it,  the  sentences 
are  lengthened  a  little  as  necessary,  and  massed 
into  paragraphs. 

The  use  of  the  "  Mother  Goose  Rhymes"  as  a  means 
of  enlivening  the  first  year  reading  lessons  is  also 
treated  as  follows  by  Mrs.  Lida  McMurry.  (Taken 
from  School  and  Home  Education  for  October,  1902.) 

Many  of  the  children  on  entering  school  are  well 
versed  in  Nursery  Rhymes.  They  enjoy  repeating 
them.  Other  children  may  not  know  them  so  well, 
but  soon  learn  them  from  their  classmates.  Teachers 
and  pupils  may  have  a  happy  time  together  with 
Mother  Goose,  and  at  the  same  time  the  pupils  are 
learning  to  read  without  realizing  that  what  they  are 
doing  is  something  that  they  are  not  accustomed  to. 

I  will  suggest  a  few  ways  in  which  these  rhymes 
may  be  made  the  basis  for  reading  lessons :  — 

Take  this  rhyme — 

I.         Dance,  Thumbkin,  dance, 

Dance,  ye  merrymen,  every  one ; 
For  Thumbkin  he  can  dance  alone, 
Thumbkin  he  can  dance  alone. 

The  second,  third,  fourth,  and  fifth  stanzas  are  like 
the  first,  only  Foreman,  Longman,  Ringman,  and 
Littleman  are  in  turn  substituted  for  Thumbkin. 

The  children  first  learn  to  act  out  each  stanza  as 


1 63          SPECIAL   METHOD   IN   PRIMARY  READING 

they  recite  it  together.  The  thumb  is  held  up  and 
moved  about  as  if  dancing,  as  the  first  line  is  given. 
All  the  fingers  dance  as  the  second  line  is  recited. 
The  thumb  dances  alone  as  the  third  and  fourth  lines 
are  repeated. 

The  teacher  then  repeats  the  stanza  alone,  and  the 
children's  fingers  accompany  her. 

Later,  when  the  children  have  learned  to  act  out 
the  story  well,  as  the  teacher  repeats  it,  the  teacher 
writes  the  first  line  at  the  board,  and,  pointing  to  it, 
asks  the  children  to  do  what  the  board  directs.  They 
cannot  tell  what  it  is,  so  the  teacher  says,  "  The 
board  is  talking  to  Thumbkin"  writing  the  name  on 
the  board  as  she  says  it.  "What  do  you  think  it 
wants  Thumbkin  to  do  ? "  pointing  to  Dance  in  the 
line  on  the  board.  The  next  line  is  written  on  the 
board.  The  children  quite  likely  will  guess  rightly 
what  it  says,  because  of  its  setting.  If  not,  the 
teacher  will  help  them  as  at  first.  In  the  same  way 
they  connect  the  third  and  fourth  lines  with  the  oral 
expression  of  the  same,  and  act  them  out  accordingly. 
That  the  children  respond  readily  to  the  directions  as 
written  is  no  proof,  at  first,  that  they  know  even  most 
of  the  words  in  the  lines.  The  teacher's  test  is  a  part 
of  the  play.  To-day,  instead  of  writing  the  first  line, 
she  writes  the  second.  Many  get  caught.  They  will 
be  more  alert  another  time.  As  they  can  never  tell 
which  line  will  appear  first,  they  learn  to  discriminate 
by  giving  closer  attention  to  the  form  of  the  words. 


INCIDENTAL    READING  169 

Sometimes  the  teacher  writes  the  six  names  — 
Thumbkin,  Foreman,  etc.,  and  Merrymen,  on  the 
board.  She  points  to  the  name  or  names  of  the  one, 
or  ones,  that  should  dance.  The  children  do  not  like 
to  make  mistakes  in  responding  with  the  fingers. 

Sometimes  the  teacher  points  to  a  name  on  the 
board,  as  Foreman,  and  writes  "dance  alone,"  or 
"  dance  every  one."  The  alert  children  see  that  the 
latter  does  not  apply. 

The  words  are  not  drilled  upon.  The  game,  with 
variations  sometimes,  is  played  quite  frequently,  but 
never  so  long  at  a  time  that  the  children  weary 
of  it.  Three  or  four  plays  or  games  are  given  at 
a  single  recitation.  The  interests  of  the  children 
are  studied,  and  rhymes  which  they  do  not  enjoy 
as  reading  material  are  dropped,  and  others  sub- 
stituted. The  rhymes  should  often  be  repeated, 
just  as  they  occur  in  "Mother  Goose,"  that  the 
children  may  not  forget  them. 

2.  Eye  winker. 

Tom  tinker. 
Mouth  eater. 
Chin  chopper. 
Chin  chopper. 

The  children  point  to  the  parts  of  the  face  as  they 
are  named.  They  first  learn  to  give  the  rhyme  with 
its  accompanying  motion  orally,  then  they  respond  to 
it  as  written  on  the  board  (Tom  tinker  is  the  other 


I7O          SPECIAL   METHOD    IN   PRIMARY   READING 

eye).  When  they  do  this  readily  the  directions  are 
written  out  of  their  order.  This  tests  the  children's 
ability  to  distinguish  one  form  from  another.  No 
child  likes  to  give  the  wrong  motion  in  response  to  a 
direction,  e.g.,  point  to  his  mouth  when  Eye  winker 
is  called  for. 

3.  The  children,  we  will  suppose,  know  a  number 
of  rhymes,  as,  e.g., 

A  diller,  a  dollar,  a  ten  o'clock  scholar. 
A  little  boy  went  into  a  barn. 
Baa,  baa,  black  sheep. 
Rain,  rain,  go  away,  etc. 

The  teacher  writes  the  first  line  of  one  of  these 
rhymes  on  the  board  and  asks  a  child  to  give  the 
rhyme.  He  cannot  at  first.  Later  he  will  learn  to 
recognize  it ;  so  with  all  the  rhymes  he  knows.  When 
he  can  give  any  rhyme  called  for  in  response  to  the 
first  line  as  written  at  the  board,  another  line  (not 
the  first)  is  written,  and  the  child  asked  to  give  the 
rhyme  of  which  it  is  a  part. 

4.  Is  John  Smith  within  ? 
Yes,  that  he  is. 

Can  he  set  a  shoe  ? 

Ay,  marry,  two. 

Here  a  nail  and  there  a  nail, 

Tick,  tack,  too. 

After  the  children  have  learned  the  above  rhyme, 
acting  it  out,  by  imitating  the  voices  of  the  two 


INCIDENTAL   READING  1 71 

speakers,  and  by  driving  the  nails,  the  two  ques- 
tions are  asked  at  the  board,  and  the  children 
respond  orally.  Sometimes  the  second  question, 
slightly  altered,  is  asked  first,  e.g.,  "Can  John 
Smith  set  a  shoe?"  Sometimes  "Who  is  within?" 
appears  on  the  board. 

5.  Old  Mother  Hubbard. 

There  are  many  stanzas  to  this  poem,  a  few  of 
which  the  teacher  will  wish  to  omit,  as  those  refer- 
ring to  the  visits  to  the  ale-house  and  the  tavern. 
The  pupils  become  perfectly  familiar  with  the  jingle, 
so  they  can  with  ease  give  it  orally,  then  the  teacher 
writes  the  first  line  of  a  stanza  at  the  board  and  point- 
ing to  it  asks  a  pupil  to  give  the  remainder  of  the 
stanza.  The  mistake  is  ludicrous  if  the  wrong  lines 
follow  the  first,  and  the  pupils  wish  to  avoid  such 
a  mistake. 

6.  There  were  two  birds  sat  on  a  stone, 

Fa,  la,  la,  la,  lal,  de. 
One  flew  away  and  then  there  was  one, 

Fa,  la,  la,  la,  lal,  de. 
The  other  flew  after  and  then  there  was  none, 

Fa,  la,  la,  la,  lal,  de. 
And  so  the  poor  stone  was  left  all  alone, 

Fa,  la,  la,  la,  lal,  de. 

The  children  act  out  this  rhyme  at  first  as  they  say 
it,  later,  silently,  as  they  see  what  is  called  for  at  the 
board. 


SPECIAL    METHOD    IN   PRIMARY   READING 

Any  number  may  be  substituted  for  two  in  the 
first  line,  but  when  they  come  to  the  third  line  the 
number  substituted  for  one  should  be  such  that  only 
one  will  remain,  e.g.,  There  were  eight  birds  sat  on 
a  stone,  Seven  flew  away,  etc.  The  children  are 
sometimes  caught  by  the  wrong  number  being  told 
to  fly.  The  children  should  not  fly  until  they  are 
sure  that  it  is  all  right. 

7.  What  are  your  eyes  for  ? 

What  are  your  ears  for  ? 
What  is  your  nose  for  ? 
What  is  your  tongue  for  ? 
What  is  your  mouth  for  ? 
What  is  your  hand  for  ?3 
What  are  your  fingers  for  ? 
What  are  your  teeth  for  ? 
What  is  your  brain  for  ? 
What  is  your  heart  for  ? 

These  questions  are  read  silently  by  the  children, 
then  answered  orally  in  complete  sentences,  one  child 
only  answering  at  one  time.  The  answers  are  so 
absurd  when  wrong  that  each  child  is  careful  to 
know  what  is  asked. 

These  are  only  a  few  of  the  ways  in  which  "  Mother 
Goose"  may  be  used  as  reading  material.  Each 
teacher  will  think  out  for  herself  ways  in  which  these 
rhymes  may  be  profitably  and  happily  employed. 

MRS.  LIDA  McMuRRY. 


CHAPTER  VII 
METHOD  IN  PRIMARY  READING 

THE  problem  of  primary  reading  is  one  of  the  most 
complex  and  difficult  in  the  whole  range  of  school 
instruction.  A  large  proportion  of  the  finest  skill 
and  sympathy  of  teachers  has  been  expended  in 
efforts  to  find  the  appropriate  and  natural  method  of 
teaching  children  to  read.  All  sorts  of  methods  and 
devices  have  been  employed,  from  the  most  formal 
and  mechanical  to  the  most  spirited  and  realistic. 

The  first  requisite  to  good  reading  is  something 
worth  reading,  something  valuable  and  interesting  to 
the  children,  and  adapted  to  their  minds.  We  must 
take  it  for  granted  in  this  discussion  that  the  best 
literature  and  the  best  stories  have  been  selected,  and 
what  the  teacher  has  to  do  is,  first,  to  appreciate 
these  masterpieces  for  herself,  and  second,  to  bring 
the  children  in  the  reading  lessons  to  appreciate 
and  enjoy  them.  In  the  primary  grades  we  are  not 
so  richly  supplied  with  available  materials  from  good 
literature  as  in  intermediate  and  grammar  grades. 
This  is  due  not  to  difficulty  in  thought,  but  to  the 
unfamiliar  written  and  printed  forms.  The  great 
problem  in  primary  reading  is  to  master  these  strange 
forms  as  quickly  as  possible,  and  find  entrance  to  the 

'73 


174         SPECIAL    METHOD   IN   PRIMARY  READING 

story-land  of  books.  For  several  years,  however,  pri- 
mary teachers  have  been  selecting  and  adapting 
the  best  stories,  and  some  of  the  leading  publishers 
have  brought  out  in  choice  school-book  form  books 
which  are  well  adapted  to  the  reading  of  primary 
grades. 

We  should  like  to  assume  one  other  advantage. 
If  the  children  have  been  treated  orally  to  "  Robinson 
Crusoe  "  in  the  second  grade,  they  will  appreciate  and 
read  the  story  much  better  in  the  third  grade.  If 
some  of  Grimm's  stories  are  told  in  first  grade,  they 
can  be  read  with  ease  in  the  second  grade.  The 
teacher's  oral  presentation  of  the  stories  is  the  right 
way  to  bring  them  close  to  the  life  and  interest  of 
children.  In  the  first  grade,  as  shown  in  the  chapter 
on  oral  lessons,  it  is  the  only  way,  because  the  chil- 
dren cannot  yet  read.  But  even  if  they  could  read,  the 
oral  treatment  is  much  better.  The  oral  presentation 
is  more  lively,  natural,  and  realistic.  The  teacher 
can  adapt  the  story  and  the  language  to  the  im- 
mediate needs  of  the  class  as  no  author  can.  She 
can  question,  or  suggest  lines  of  thought,  or  call  up 
ideas  from  the  children's  experience.  The  oral  man- 
ner is  the  true  way  to  let  the  children  delve  into  the 
rich  culture-content  of  stories  and  to  awaken  a  taste 
for  their  beauty  and  truth.  We  could  well  wish  that 
before  children  read  mythical  stories  in  fourth  grade, 
they  had  been  stirred  up  to  enjoy  them  by  oral  narra- 
tion and  discussion  in  the  preceding  year.  In  the 


METHOD    IN   PRIMARY   READING 

same  way,  if  the  reading  bears  on  interesting  science 
topics  previously  studied,  it  will  be  a  distinct  advan- 
tage to  the  reading  lesson.  Children  like  to  read 
about  things  that  have  previously  excited  their  inter- 
est, whether  in  story  or  science.  The  difficulties  of 
formal  reading  will  also  be  partly  overcome  by  famili- 
arity with  the  harder  names  and  words.  Our  con- 
clusion is  that  reading  lessons,  alone,  cannot  provide 
all  the  conditions  favorable  to  good  reading.  Some 
of  these  can  be  well  supplied  by  other  studies  or  by 
preliminary  lessons  which  pave  the  way  for  the  read- 
ing proper.  This  matter  has  been  so  fully  discussed 
in  the  earlier  chapters  on  oral  work  that  it  requires 
no  further  treatment  here. 

FOLK-LORE   STORIES   AS   READING  EXERCISES   FOR 
FIRST   GRADE 

Let  it  be  supposed  that  a  class  of  first-grade  chil- 
dren has  learned  to  tell  a  certain  story  orally.  It  has 
interested  them  and  stirred  up  their  thought. 

Let  them  next  learn  to  read  the  same  story  in 
a  very  simple  form.  This  will  lead  to  a  series  of 
elementary  reading  lessons  in  connection  with  the 
story,  and  the  aim  should  be  strictly  that  of  master- 
ing the  early  difficulties  of  reading.  The  teacher 
recalls  the  story,  and  asks  for  a  statement  from  its 
beginning.  If  the  sentence  furnished  by  the  child  is 
simple  and  suitable,  the  teacher  writes  it  on  the  black- 
board in  plain  large  script.  Each  child  reads  it 


176          SPECIAL    METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING 

through  and  points  out  the  words.  Let  there  be  a 
lively  drill  upon  the  sentence  till  the  picture  of  each 
word  becomes  clear  and  distinct.  During  the  first 
lesson,  two  or  three  short  sentences  can  be  handled 
with  success.  As  new  words  are  learned,  they  should 
be  mixed  up  on  the  board  with  those  learned  before, 
and  a  quick  and  varied  drill  on  the  words  in  sentences 
or  in  columns  be  employed  to  establish  the  forms  in 
memory.1  Speed,  variety  in  device,  and  watchfulness 
to  keep  all  busy  and  attentive  are  necessary  to  secure 
good  results. 

After  a  few  lessons  one  or  two  of  the  simpler 
words  may  be  taken  for  phonetic  analysis.  The 
simple  sounds  are  associated  with  the  letters  that 
represent  them.  These  familiar  letters  are  later  met 
and  identified  in  new  words,  and,  as  soon  as  a 
number  of  sounds  with  their  symbols  have  been 
learned,  new  words  can  be  constructed  and  pro- 
nounced from  these  known  elements. 

The  self-activity  of  the  children  in  recognizing  the 
elementary  sounds,  already  met,  in  new  words  as  fast 
as  they  come  up,  is  one  of  the  chief  merits  of  this 
early  study  of  words.  They  thus  early  learn  the 
power  of  self-help  and  of  confident  reliance  upon 
themselves  in  acquiring  and  using  knowledge.  The 
chief  difficulty  is  in  telling  which  sound  to  use,  as  a 
letter  often  has  several  sounds  (as  a,  e,  s,  c,  etc.).  But 

1  First-class  primary  teachers  claim  that  drills  are  unnecessary  if  the 
teacher  is  skilful  in  recombining  the  old  words  in  new  sentences. 


METHOD  IN  PRIMARY  READING 

the  children  are  capable  of  testing  the  known  sounds 
of  a  letter  upon  a  new  word,  and  in  most  cases,  of 
deciding  which  to  use.  The  thoughtless  habit  of 
pronouncing  every  new  word  for  a  child,  without 
effort  on  his  part,  checks  and  spoils  his  interest  and 
self-activity.  It  does  not  seem  necessary  to  use  an 
extensive  system  of  diacritical  markings  to  guide  him 
in  these  efforts  to  discriminate  sounds.  It  is  better 
to  use  the  marks  as  little  as  possible  and  learn  to 
interpret  words  as  they  usually  appear  in  print. 
Experience  has  shown  decisively  that  a  lively  and 
vigorous  self-activity  is  manifested  by  such  early 
efforts  in  learning  to  read.  It  is  one  of  the  most 
encouraging  signs  in  education  to  see  little  children 
in  their  first  efforts  to  master  the  formal  art  of  read- 
ing, showing  this  spirited  self-reliant  energy. 

In  the  same  way,  they  recognize  old  words  in 
sentences  and  new  or  changed  combinations  of  old 
forms,  and  begin  to  read  new  sentences  which  com- 
bine old  words  in  new  relations. 

In  short,  the  sentence,  word,  and  phonic  methods 
are  all  used  in  fitting  alternation,  while  originality  and 
variety  of  device  are  necessary  in  the  best  exercise  of 
teaching  power. 

The  processes  of  learning  to  read  by  such  board- 
script  work  are  partly  analytic  and  partly  synthetic. 
Children  begin  with  sentences,  analyze  them  into 
words,  and  some  of  the  words  into  their  simple 
sounds.  But  when  these  sounds  begin  to  grow 


1/8          SPECIAL    METHOD   IN    PRIMARY   READING 

familiar,  they  are  identified  again  in  other  words, 
thus  combining  them  into  new  forms.  In  the  same 
way,  words  once  learned  by  the  analytic  study  of 
sentences  are  recognized  again  in  new  sentences,  and 
thus  interpreted  in  new  relations. 

The  short  sentences,  derived  from  a  familiar  story, 
when  ranged  together  supply  a  brief,  simple  outline 
of  the  story.  If  now  this  series  of  sentences  be 
written  on  the  board  or  printed  on  slips  of  paper, 
the  whole  story  may  be  reviewed  by  the  class  from 
day  to  day  till  the  word  and,  sentence  forms  are  well 
mastered.  For  making  these  printed  slips,  some 
teachers  use  a  small  printing-press,  or  a  typewriter. 
Eventually  several  stories  may  be  collected  and 
sewed  together,  so  as  to  form  a  little  reading-book 
which  is  the  result  of  the  constructive  work  of 
teacher  and  pupils. 

The  reading  lessons  just  described  are  entirely 
separate  from  the  oral  treatment  and  reproduction  of 
the  stories ;  yet  the  thought  and  interest  awakened 
in  the  oral  work  are  helpful  in  keeping  up  a  lively 
effort  in  the  reading  class.  The  thought  material  in 
a  good  story  is  itself  a  mental  stimulus,  and  produces 
a  wakefulness  which  is  favorable  to  imprinting  the 
forms  as  well  as  the  content  of  thought.  Expression, 
also,  that  is,  natural  and  vivid  rendering  of  the 
thought,  is  always  aimed  at  in  reading,  and  springs 
spontaneously  from  interesting  thought  studies. 

Many  teachers  use  the  materials  furnished  by  oral 


METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING  1 79 

lessons  in  natural  science  as  a  similar  introduction  to 
reading  in  first  grade.  The  science  lessons  furnish 
good  thought  matter  for  simple  sentences,  and  there 
is  good  reason  why,  in  learning  to  read,  children 
should  use  sentences  drawn  both  from  literature  and 
from  natural  science. 

READING   IN   THE   SECOND    GRADE 

The  oral  lessons  in  good  stories,  and  the  later 
board-use  of  these  materials  in  learning  the  elements 
of  formal  reading,  are  an  excellent  preparation  for 
the  fuller  and  more  extended  reading  of  similar 
matter  in  the  second  and  third  grades. 

When  the  oral  work  of  the  first  grade  has  thus 
kindled  the  fancy  of  a  child  upon  these  charming 
pictures,  and  the  later  board-work  has  acquainted 
him  with  letter  and  word  symbols  which  express  such 
thought,  the  reading  of  the  same  and  other  stories  of 
like  character  (a  year  later)  will  follow  as  an  easy 
and  natural  sequence.  As  a  preliminary  to  all  good 
reading  exercises,  there  should  be  rich  and  fruitful 
thought  adapted  to  the  age  of  children.  The  realm 
of  classic  folk-lore  contains  abundant  thought  mate- 
rial peculiar  in  its  fitness  to  awaken  the  interest  and 
fancy  of  children  in  the  first  two  grades.  To  bring 
these  choice  stories  close  to  the  hearts  of  children 
should  be  the  aim  of  much  of  the  work  in  both  these 
grades.  Such  an  aim,  skilfully  carried  out,  not  only 
conduces  to  the  joy  of  children  in  first  grade,  but 


l8O         SPECIAL   METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING 

infuses  the  reading  lessons  of  second  grade  with 
thought  and  culture  of  the  best  quality. 

Interest  and  vigor  of  thought  are  certain  to  help 
right  expression  and  reading.  Reading,  like  every 
other  study,  should  be  based  upon  realities.  When 
there  is  real  thought  and  feeling  in  the  children,  a 
correct  expression  of  them  is  more  easily  secured 
than  by  formal  demands  or  by  intimidation. 

The  stories  to  be  read  in  second  or  third  grade 
may  be  fuller  and  longer  than  the  brief  outline  sen- 
tences used  for  board-work  in  the  first  grade. 
Besides,  these  tales,  being  classic  and  of  permanent 
value,  do  not  lose  their  charm  by  repetition. 

METHOD 

By  oral  reading,  we  mean  the  giving  of  the 
thought  obtained  from  a  printed  page  to  others 
through  the  medium  of  the  voice. 

There  is  first  the  training  of  the  eye  in  taking  in  a 
number  of  words  at  a  glance — a  mechanical  process; 
then  the  interpretation  of  these  groups  of  words  — 
a  mental  process ;  next  the  making  known  of  the 
ideas  thus  obtained  to  others,  by  means  of  the  voice 
— also  a  mechanical  process. 

The  children  need  special  help  in  each  step.  We 
are  apt  to  overdo  one  at  the  expense  of  the  others. 

i..  Eye-training  is  the  foundation  of  all  good  read- 
ing. Various  devices  are  resorted  to  in  obtaining  it. 
We  will  suggest  a  few,  not  new  at  all,  but  useful. 


METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING  l8l 

(a)  A  strip  of  cardboard,  on  which  is  a  clause  or 
sentence,  is  held  before  the  class,  for  a  moment  only, 
and  then  removed.     The  length  of  the  task  is  in- 
creased as  the  eye  becomes  trained  to  this  kind  of 
work. 

(b)  The  children  open  their  books  at  a  signal  from 
the  teacher,  glance  through  a  line,  or  part  of  one, 
indicated  by  the  teacher,  close  book  at  once  and  give 
the  line. 

(c)  The  teacher  places  on  the  board  clauses  or 
sentences  bearing  on  the  lesson,  and  covers  with  a 
map.     The  map  is  rolled  up  to  show  one  of  these, 
which  is  almost  immediately  erased.     The  children 
are  then  asked  to  give  it.    The  map  is  then  rolled 
up  higher,  exposing  another,  which  also  is  speedily 
erased  —  and  so  on  until  all  have  been  given  to  the 
children  and  erased. 

2.  The  child  needs  not  only  to  be  able  to  recognize 
groups  of  words,  but  he  must  be  able  to  get  thought 
from  them.  The  following  are  some  devices  to  that 
end:  — 

(a)  Suggestive  pictures  can  be  made  use  of  to 
advantage  all  through  the  primary  grades.     If  the 
child  reads  part  of  the  story  in  the  picture,  and  finds 
it  interesting,  he  will  want  to  read  from  the  printed 
page  the  part  not  given  in  the  picture. 

(b)  Where  there  is  no  picture  —  or  even  where 
there  is  one  —  an  aim  may  be  useful  to  arouse  interest 
in  the  thought,  i.e.  a  thoughtful  question  may  be  put 


1 82          SPECIAL    METHOD    IN    PRIMARY   READING 

by  the  teacher,  which  the  children  can  answer  only 
by  reading  the  story;  e.g.  in  the  supplementary 
reader,  "  Easy  Steps  for  Little  Feet,"  is  found  the 
story  of  "  The  Pin  and  Needle."  There  is  no  picture. 
The  teacher  says,  as  the  class  are  seated :  "  Now  we 
have  a  story  about  a  big  quarrel  between  a  pin  and  a 
needle  over  the  question,  'Which  one  is  the  better 
fellow  ? '  Of  what  could  the  needle  boast  ?  Of  what 
the  pin  ?  Let  us  see  which  won." 

(c)  Let  all  the  pupils  look  through  one  or  more 
paragraphs,  reading  silently,  to  get  the  thought, 
before  any  one  is  called  upon  to  read  aloud.  If  a 
child  comes  to  a  word  that  he  does  not  know,  during 
the  silent  reading,  the  teacher  helps  him  to  get  it  — 
from  the  context  if  possible  —  if  not,  by  the  sounds 
of  the  letters  which  compose  it. 

As  each  child  finishes  the  task  assigned,  he  raises 
his  eyes  from  the  book,  showing  by  this  act  that  he 
is  ready  to  tell  what  he  has  just  read.  The  thought 
may  be  given  by  the  child  in  his  own  language  to 
assure  the  teacher  that  he  has  it.  Usually,  however, 
in  the  lower  grades,  this  is  unnecessary,  the  language 
of  the  book  being  nearly  as  simple  as  his  own. 

The  advantage  of  having  all  the  pupils  kept  busy, 
instead  of  one  alone  who  might  be  called  upon  to 
read  the  paragraph,  is  evident.  Every  child  reads 
silently  all  of  the  lesson.  Time  would  not  permit 
that  this  be  done  orally,  were  it  advisable  to  do  so. 
When  the  child  gets  up  to  read,  he  is  not  likely  tf 


METHOD  IN  PRIMARY  READING        1 83 

stumble,  for  he  has  both  the  thought  and  the  expres- 
sion for  it,  at  the  start. 

While  aiming  to  have  the  children  comprehend  the 
thought,  the  teacher  should  not  forget,  on  the  other 
hand,  that  this  is  the  reading  hour,  and  not  the  time 
for  much  oral  instruction  and  reproduction.  There 
are  other  recitations  in  which  the  child  is  trained  to 
free  oral  expression  of  thought,  as  in  science  and 
literature.  Such  offhand  oral  expression  of  his  own 
ideas  is  not  the  primary  aim  of  the  reading  lesson. 
Its  purpose  is  to  lend  life  to  the  recitation. 

3.  Steps  i  and  2  deal  with  preparation  for  the  read- 
ing. Up  to  this  time,  no  oral  reading  has  been  done. 
Now  we  are  ready  to  begin. 

Children  will  generally  express  the  thought  with 
the  proper  emphasis  if  they  not  only  see  its  meaning 
but  also  feel  it.  Suppose  the  children  are  interested 
in  the  thought  of  the  piece,  they  still  fail,  sometimes, 
to  give  the  proper  emphasis.  How  can  the  teacher, 
by  questioning,  get  them  to  realize  the  more  important 
part  of  the  thought  ? 

(a)  The  teacher  has  gone  deeper  into  the  mean- 
ing than  have  the  children.  Her  questions  should 
be  such  as  to  make  real  to  the  children  the  more 
emphatic  part  of  the  thought;  e.g.  in  the  Riverside 
Primer  we  have,  "  Poor  Bun,  good  dog,  did  you  think 
I  meant  to  hit  you  ? "  John  reads,  "  Do  you  think  I 
meant  to  hit  you?"  The  teacher  says,  "I  will  be 
Bun,  John.  What  is  it  that  you  do  not  want  Bun  to 


184          SPECIAL    METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING 

think?"  ("That  I  meant  to  hit  him.")  "  But  you 
did  mean  to  hit  something.  What  was  it  you  did  not 
mean  to  hit  ?  Tell  Bun."  ("  I  did  not  mean  to  hit 
you.")  Now  ask  him  if  he  thought  that  you  did. 
("  Did  you  think  I  meant  to  hit  you  f  ") 

(b)  When  the  story  is  in  the  form  of  a  dialogue, 
the   children   may  personate   the   characters   in  the 
story.     Thus,  getting  into  the  real  spirit  of  the  piece, 
their  emphasis  will  naturally  fall  where  it  properly 
belongs. 

(c)  Sometimes  the  teacher  will  find  it  necessary  to 
show  the  child  how  to  read  a  passage  properly,  by 
reading  it  himself.     It  is  seldom  best  to  do  this  — 
certainly  not  if  the  correct  expression  can  be  reached 
through  questioning. 

Many  a  teacher  makes  a  practice  of  giving  the 
proper  emphasis  to  the  child,  he  copying  it  from  her 
voice.  Frequently,  children  taught  in  this  way  can 
read  one  piece  after  another  in  their  readers  with 
excellent  expression,  but,  when  questioned,  show  that 
their  minds  are  a  blank  as  to  the  meaning  of  what 
they  are  reading. 

In  working  for  expression,  a  great  many  teachers 
waste  the  time  and  energy  of  the  pupils  by  indefinite 
directions.  The  emphasis  is  not  correctly  placed,  so 
the  teacher  says,  "  I  do  not  like  that ;  try  it  again, 
May/'  Now,  May  has  no  idea  in  what  particular  she 
has  failed,  so  she  gives  it  again,  very  likely  as  she 
gave  it  before,  or  she  may  put  the  emphasis  on  some 


METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING  185 

other  word,  hoping  by  so  doing  to  please  the  teacher. 
"  Why,  no,  May,  you  surely  can  do  better  than  that," 
says  the  teacher.  So  May  makes  another  fruitless 
attempt,  when  the  teacher,  disgusted,  calls  on  another 
pupil  to  show  her  how  to  read.  May  has  gained  no 
clearer  insight  into  the  thought  than  she  started  out 
with,  no  power  to  grapple  more  successfully  with  a 
similar  difficulty  another  time,  and  has  lost,  partly 
at  least,  her  interest  in  the  piece.  She  has  been 
bothered  and  discouraged,  and  the  class  wearied. 

Sometimes  when  the  expression  is  otherwise  good, 
the  children  pitch  their  voices  too  high  or  too  low. 
Natural  tones  must  be  insisted  upon.  A  good  aid  to 
the  children  in  this  respect  is  the  habitual  example  of 
quiet,  clear  tones  in  the  teacher. 

Another  fault  of  otherwise  good  reading  is  a  fail- 
ure to  enunciate  distinctly.  Children  are  inclined  to 
slight  many  sounds,  especially  at  the  end  of  the 
words,  and  the  teacher  is  apt  to  think  :  "  That  doesn't 
make  so  very  much  difference,  since  they  are  only 
children.  When  they  are  older  they  will  see  that 
their  pronunciation  is  babyish,  and  adopt  a  correct 
form."  This  is  unsound  reasoning.  Every  time  the 
child  says  las  for  last  he  is  establishing  more  firmly 
a  habit,  to  overcome  which  will  give  him  much 
difficulty. 

In  the  pronunciation  of  words  as  well  as  in  the 
reading  of  a  sentence,  much  time  is  wasted  through 
failure  to  point  out  the  exact  word,  and  the  syllable 


1 86  SPECIAL   METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING 

in  the  word,  in  which  the  mistake  has  been  made. 
The  child  cannot  improve  unless  he  knows  in  what 
particular  there  is  room  for  improvement. 

Children  in  primary  grades  should  be  supplied  with 
a  good  variety  of  primers,  readers,  and  simple  story 
books.  In  the  course  of  their  work  they  should  read 
through  a  number  of  first,  second,  and  third  readers. 
Much  of  this  reading  should  be  simple  and  easy,  so 
that  they  can  move  rapidly  through  a  book,  and  gain 
confidence  and  satisfaction  from  it.  In  each  grade 
there  should  be  several  sets  of  readers,  which  can  be 
turned  to  as  the  occasion  may  demand.  It  is  much 
better  to  read  a  new  reader,  involving  in  the  main  the 
same  vocabulary,  than  to  reread  an  old  book.  This 
use  of  several  books  in  each  grade  adds  to  the  interest 
and  reduces  to  a  minimum  the  mere  drills,  which  are 
to  be  avoided  as  much  as  possible. 

SUMMARY 

i.  Let  children  read  under  the  impulse  of  strong 
and  interesting  thought. 

(a)  The  previous   oral   treatment   of   the  stories 
now  used  as  reading  lessons  will  help  this  thought 
impulse. 

(b)  An  aim  concretely  stated,  and  touching  an  inter- 
esting thought  in  the  lesson,  will  give  impetus  to  the 
work. 

(c)  Let  children  pass  judgment  on  the  truth,  worth, 
or  beauty  of  what  they  read. 


METHOD    IN    PRIMARY   READING  1 8? 

(d)  Clear  mental  pictures  of  people,  actions,  places, 
etc.,  conduce  to  vigor  of  thought.     To  this  end  the 
teacher  should  use  good  pictures,  make  sketches,  and 
give  descriptions  or  explanations.     Children  should 
also  be  allowed  to  sketch  freely  at  the  board. 

2.  Children  should   be  encouraged  constantly  to 
help  themselves  in  interpreting  new  words  and  sen- 
tences in  reading. 

(a)  By  looking  through  the  new  sentence  and  mak- 
ing it  out,  if  possible,  for  themselves  before  any  one 
reads  it  aloud. 

(ft)  By  analyzing  a  new  word  into  its  sounds,  and 
then  combining  them  to  get  its  pronunciation. 

(c)  By  interpreting  a  new  word  from  its  context,  or 
by  the  first  sound  or  syllable. 

(</)  By  using  the  new  powers  of  the  letters  as  fast 
as  they  are  learned  in  interpreting  new  words. 

(e)  By  trying  the  different  sounds  of  a  letter  to  a 
new  word  to  see  which  seems  to  fit  best. 

(/")  By  recognizing  familiar  words  in  new  sentences 
with  a  different  context. 

(g)  See  that  every  child  reads  the  sentences  in  the 
new  lesson  for  himself. 

3.  There  should  be  a  gradual  introduction  to  the 
elementary  sounds  (powers  of  the  letters). 

The  first  words  analyzed  should  be  simple  and 
phonetic  in  spelling,  as  dog,  hen,  cat,  etc. 

New  sounds  of  letters  are  taught  as  the  children 
need  them  in  studying  out  new  words. 


1 88  SPECIAL   METHOD    IN   PRIMARY   READING 

Very  little  attention  needs  to  be  given  to  learning 
the  names  of  the  letters. 

There  need  be  little  use  of  diacritical  markings  in 
early  reading. 

4.  Many  of  the  new  words  will  occur  in  connection 
with  the  picture  at  the  head  of  the  lesson.     Place 
these  on  the  board  as  they  come  up. 

If  the  teacher  will  weave  these  words  into  her  conver- 
sation, they  will  give  the  children  little  future  trouble. 

5.  All  the  different  phases  of  the  phonic,  word,  and 
sentence  method  should  be  woven  together  by  a  skil- 
ful teacher. 

6.  The  close  attention  of  all  the  members  of  the 
class,  so  that  each  reads  through  the  whole  lesson, 
should  be  an  ever-present  aim  of  the  teacher. 

7.  Children  should  be  trained   to   grasp   several 
words  at  a  glance :  — 

(a)  By  quick  writing  and  erasure  of  words  and 
sentences  at  the  board. 

(b)  By  exposing  for  an  instant  sentences  covered 
by  a  screen. 

(c)  By  the  use  of  phrases  or  short  sentences  on 
cardboard. 

(d)  By  questions  for  group  thought. 

These  tests  should  increase  in  difficulty  with  grow- 
ing skill. 

8.  Spend  but  little  time  in  the  oral  reproduction  of 
stories.     Practice  in  good  reading  and  interpretation 
is  the  main  thing. 


METHOD    IN   PRIMARY   READING  189 

9.  Children,  from  the  first,  should  be  encouraged 
to  articulate  distinctly  in  oral  reading.  Let  the 
teacher  begin  at  home.  • 

10.  Let  the  teacher  cultivate  a  pleasing  tone  of 
voice,  not  loud  or  harsh.     This  will  help  the  children 
to  the  same. 

11.  Vigorous  and  forcible  expression  is  secured : — 

(a)  By  having  interesting  stories. 

(b)  By  apt  questions  to  bring  out  the  emphatic 
thought. 

(c)  By  dramatizing  the  scenes  of  the  story. 

(d)  By  occasional  examples  of  lively  reading  by 
the  teacher. 

(e)  By  defmiteness  in  questioning. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
LIST  OF  BOOKS  FOR  PRIMARY  GRADES 

IN  selecting  reading  books  for  primary  grades  the 
purpose  is  to  find  those  which  will  give  the  readiest 
mastery  of  the  printed  forms  of  speech. 

For  this  purpose  books  need  to  be  well  graded  and 
interesting.  Primary  teachers  have  expended  their 
utmost  skill  upon  such  simple,  attractive,  and  inter- 
esting books  for  children.  Pictorial  illustration  has 
added  to  the  clearness  and  beauty  of  the  books,  so 
that,  with  the  rivalry  of  many  large  publishing 
houses,  we  now  have  a  great  variety  of  good  primary 
books  to  select  from. 

The  earliest  and  simplest  of  these  are  the  primers, 
which,  followed  by  the  first  readers,  give  the  most 
necessary  drills  upon  the  forms  of  easy  words  and 
sentences.  Great  care  has  been  taken  to  give  an 
easy  regular  grading  so  as  to  let  a  child  help  himself 
as  much  as  possible.  But  as  soon  as  children,  by 
blackboard  exercises  and  by  means  of  primers, 
have  gained  a  mastery  of  the  simpler  words  and  the 
powers  of  the  letters,  the  Mother  Goose  rhymes,  the 
fables  and  fairy  tales  (already  familiar  to  the  children 

190 


LIST  OF   BOOKS   FOR  PRIMARY   GRADES          IQI 

in  oral  work)  are  introduced  into  their  reading  books 
in  the  simplest  possible  forms. 

The  use  of  interesting  rhymes  and  stories  in  this  early 
reading  is  the  only  means  of  giving  it  a  lively  content 
and  of  thus  securing  interest  and  concentration  of 
thought.  Good  primary  teachers  have  been  able  in 
this  way  to  relieve  the  reading  lessons  of  their  tedium, 
and,  what  is  equally  good,  have  strengthened  the  inter- 
est of  the  children  in  the  best  literature  of  childhood. 

Besides  the  choicest  fables  and  fairy  tales,  many 
of  the  simpler  nature  myths  and  even  such  longer 
poems  and  stories  as  "  Hiawatha,"  "  Robinson  Cru- 
soe," and  "  Ulysses  "  have  been  used  with  happy  re- 
sults as  reading  books  in  the  first  three  years.  There 
are  also  certain  collections  of  children's  poems,  such 
as  Stevenson's  "Child's  Garden  of  Verses,"  Field's 
"  Love-songs  of  Childhood,"  Sherman's  "  Little  Folk 
Lyrics,"  "Old  Ballads  in  Prose,"  "The  Listening 
Child,"  and  others,  which  may  suggest  the  beauty  and 
variety  of  choice  literary  materials  which  are  now 
easily  within  the  reach  of  teachers  and  children  in 
primary  schools. 

There  is  no  longer  any  doubt  that  little  folk  in 
primary  classes  may  reap  the  full  benefit  of  a  close 
acquaintance  with  these  favorite  songs,  stories,  and 
poems,  and  that  in  the  highest  educative  sense  the 
effect  is  admirable. 

In  the  following  list  the  books  for  each  grade  are 
arranged  into  three  groups :  — 


192         SPECIAL   METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING 

First.  A  series  of  choicest  books  and  those  exten- 
sively used  and  well  adapted  for  the  grade  as  regular 
reading  exercises. 

Second.  A  supplementary  list  of  similar  quality 
and  excellence,  but  somewhat  more  difficult. 

They  may,  in  some  cases,  serve  as  substitutes  for 
those  given  in  the  first  group. 

Third.  A  collection  of  books  for  teachers,  partly 
similar  in  character  to  those  mentioned  in  the  two 
previous  groups  and  partly  of  a  much  wider,  profes- 
sional range  in  literature,  history,  and  nature.  Some 
books  of  child-study,  psychology,  and  pedagogy  are 
also  included.  The  problems  of  the  primary  teacher 
are  no  longer  limited  to  the  small  drills  and  exercises 
in  spelling  and  reading,  but  comprehend  many  of  the 
most  interesting  and  far-reaching  questions  of  educa- 
tion. It  is  well,  therefore,  for  the  primary  teacher  to 
become  acquainted  not  only  with  the  great  works  of 
literature  but  with  the  best  professional  books  in 
education. 

LIST  OF  CHOICE  READING  MATTER  FOR 
THE   GRADES 

FIRST  GRADE  — FIRST  SERIES 

Cyr's  Primer.    Ginn  &  Co. 

Cyr's  First  Reader.    Ginn  &  Co. 

Riverside  Primer  and  First  Reader.    Houghton,  Mifflin,  &  Co. 

Nature  Stories  for  Young  Readers  (Plants).     D.  C.  Heath  &  Co. 

Hiawatha  Primer.     Houghton,  Mifflin,  &  Co. 


LIST   OF    BOOKS   FOR   PRIMARY    GRADES  IQ3 

Stepping  Stones  to  Literature,  Book  I.    Silver,  Burdett,  &  Co. 

Child  Life  Primer.     The  Macmillan  Co. 

Taylor's  First  Reader.     Werner  School  Book  Co. 

Arnold's  Primer.'    Silver,  Burdett,  &  Co. 

The  Thought  Reader.     Ginn  &  Co. 

Sunbonnet  Babies.     Rand,  McNally,  &  Co. 

Nature's  By-ways.     The  Morse  Co. 

Graded  Classics,  No.  I.     B.  F.  Johnson  Pub.  Co. 

Graded  Literature,  No.  I.     Maynard,  Merrill,  &  Co. 

First  Reader  (Hodskins).     Ginn  &  Co. 

Baldwin's  Primer  (Kirk).    American  Book  Co. 


FIRST  GRADE  — SECOND  SERIES 

Six  Nursery  Classics  (O'Shea).     D.  C.  Heath  &  Co. 

Verse  and  Prose  for  Beginners  in  Reading.     Houghton,  Mifflin, 

&Co. 

Stories  for  Children.     American  Book  Co. 
Rhymes  and  Fables.    University  Publishing  Co. 
The  Finch  First  Reader.     Ginn  &  Co. 
Baldwin's  First  Reader.     American  Book  Co. 
Heart  of  Oak,  No.  I.     D.  C.  Heath  &  Co. 
Choice  Literature,  Book  I  (Williams) .     Butler,  Sheldon,  &  Co. 
Child  Life,  First  Book.     The  Macmillan  Co. 
Fables  and  Rhymes  for  Beginners.     Ginn  &  Co. 


FIRST  GRADE  — FOR  TEACHERS  — THIRD  SERIES 

A  Book  of  Nursery  Rhymes  (Mother  Goose).    D.  C.  Heath  &  Co. 
The  Adventures  of  a  Brownie.     Harper  &  Bros. 
Kindergarten  Stories  and  Morning  Talks  (Wiltse).     Ginn  &  Co. 
Talks  for  Kindergarten  and  Primary  Schools  (Wiltse).     Ginn 

&Co. 

Hall's  How  to  Teach  Reading.     D.  C.  Heath  &  Co. 
Place  of  the  Story  in  Early  Education  (Wiltse).    Ginn  &  Co. 
Methods  of  Teaching  Reading  (Branson).    D.  C.  Heath  &  Co. 


194         SPECIAL   METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING 

Lowell's  Books  and  Libraries.    Houghton,  Mifflin,  &  Co. 
Ruskin's  Books  and  Reading.     In  Sesame  and  Lilies. 
Lectures  to  Kindergartners  (Peabody).     D.  C.  Heath  &  Co. 
Mother  Goose  (Denslow).     McClure,  Phillips,  &  Co. 
Boston  Collection  of  Kindergarten  Stories.      J.   L.   Hammett 

&Co. 
The  Study  of  Children  and  their  School  Training  (Warner). 

The  Macmillan  Co. 
The  Story  Hour  (Kate  Douglas  Wiggin).     Houghton,  Mifflin, 

&Co. 

Trumpet  and  Drum  (Eugene  Field).     Scribner's  Sons. 
A  Child's  Garden  of  Verses  (Robert  Louis  Stevenson).    Scrib- 
ner's Sons. 
Treetops  and  Meadows.     The  Public  School  Publishing  Co., 

Bloomington,  111. 
Songs  from  the  Nest  (Emily  Huntington  Miller).     Kindergarten 

Literature  Co. 
The  Moral  Instruction  of  Children  (Felix  Adler).    D.  Appleton 

&Co. 
Children's  Rights  (Kate  Douglas  Wiggin).     Houghton,  Mifflin, 

&Co. 

The  Story  of  Patsy  (Wiggin).     Houghton,  Mifflin,  &  Co. 
First  Book  of  Birds  (Miller).     Houghton,  Mifflin,  &  Co. 


SECOND  GRADE  — FIRST  SERIES 

Nature  Stories  for  Young  Readers  (continued).    D.  C.  Heath 

&Co. 

Easy  Steps  for  Little  Feet.    American  Book  Co. 
Classic  Stories  for  Little  Ones.    Public  School  Publishing  Co., 

Bloomington,  111. 

Verse  and  Prose  for  Beginners.     Houghton,  Mifflin,  &  Co. 
Cyr's  Second  Reader.    Ginn  &  Co. 
Stepping  Stones  to  Literature,  Book  II. 
Pets  and  Companions  (Stickney).     Ginn  &  Co. 
Child  Life,  Second  Book.    The  Macmillan  Co. 


LIST   OF   BOOKS   FOR  PRIMARY   GRADES  1 95 

Nature  Myths  and  Stories  for  Little  Ones  (Cooke).    A.  Flanagan 

&Co. 
The  preceding  books  are  for  second  and  third  grades. 

Around  the  World,  Book  I.     The  Morse  Co. 

Graded  Classics,  No.  II.     B.  F.  Johnson  Publishing  Co. 

Graded  Literature,  No.  II.     Maynard,  Merrill,  &  Co. 

A  Book  of  Nursery  Rhymes  (Welsh).     D.  C.  Heath  &  Co. 

Book  of  Nature  Myths  (Holbrook) .     Houghton,  Mifflin,  &  Co. 

SECOND   GRADE  — SECOND   SERIES 

Heart  of  Oak,  No.  II.     D.  C.  Heath  &  Co. 

German  Fairy  Tales  (Grimm).     Maynard,  Merrill,  &  Co. 

Fables  and  Folk  Lore  (Scudder).     Houghton,  Mifflin,  &  Co. 

Nature  Stories  for  Young  Readers  —  Animals.     D.  C.  Heath  &  Co. 

Danish  Fairy  Tales  (Andersen).     Maynard,  Merrill,  &  Co. 

Baldwin's  Second  Reader.     American  Book  Co. 

Choice  Literature,  Book  II  (Williams) .     Butler,  Sheldon,  &  Co. 

Fairy  Tale  and  Fable  (Thompson).     The  Morse  Co. 

Fairy  Stories  and  Fables  (Baldwin) .     American  Book  Co. 

Plant  Babies  and  Their  Cradles.     Educational  Publishing  Co. 

yEsop's  Fables.     Educational  Publishing  Co. 

Story  Reader.     American  Book  Co. 

Open  Sesame,  Part  I.     Ginn  &  Co. 

The  above  are  excellent  selections  for  second,  third,  and  fourth 
grades. 

Songs  and  Stories.     University  Publishing  Co. 
Love  Songs  of  Childhood  (Field).     Scribner's  Sons. 

SECOND   GRADE  — FOR  TEACHERS 

Poetry  for  Children  (Eliot).     Houghton,  Mifflin,  &  Co. 
The  Story  Hour  (Wiggin).     Houghton,  Mifflin,  &  Co. 
Story  of  Hiawatha.     Houghton,  Mifflin,  &  Co. 
Round  the  Year  in  Myth  and  Song  (Holbrook).    American 
Book  Co. 


SPECIAL   METHOD   IN   PRIMARY  READING 

Old  Ballads  in  Prose  (Tappan).     Houghton,  Miffiin,  &  Co. 

St.  Nicholas  Christmas  Book.     Century  Co.,  New  York. 

Asgard  Stories  (Foster-Cummings).     Silver,  Burdett,  &  Co. 

Fairy  Tale  Plays  and  How  to  Act  Them  (Mrs.  Bell).  Long- 
mans, Green,  &  Co. 

Little  Folk  Lyrics  (Sherman).     Houghton,  Mifflin,  &  Co. 

Readings  in  Folk  Lore  (Skinner) .     American  Book  Co. 

Nature  Pictures  by  American  Poets.     The  Macmillan  Co. 

Squirrels  and  Other  Fur-bearers  (Burroughs).  Houghton,  Mif- 
flin, &  Co. 

Seven  Great  American  Poets  (Hart).     Silver,  Burdett,  &  Co. 

Early  Training  of  Children  (Malleson).     D.  C.  Heath  &  Co. 

Comenius's  The  School  of  Infancy.     D.  C.  Heath  &  Co. 

Kriisi's  Life  of  Pestalozzi.     American  Book  Co. 

Development  of  the  Child  (Oppenheim).    The  Macmillan  Co. 

The  Study  of  Child  Nature  (Elizabeth  Harrison).  Published  by 
Chicago  Kindergarten  College. 

Listening  Child  (Thatcher).     The  Macmillan  Co. 

History  and  Literature  (Rice).     A.  Flanagan  &  Co. 


THIRD  GRADE  — FIRST  SERIES 

Robinson  Crusoe.     Public  School  Publishing  Co. 

Golden  Book  of  Choice  Reading.    American  Book  Co. 

/Esop's  Fables  (Stickney).     Ginn  &  Co. 

Andersen's  Fairy  Tales,  Part  I.     Ginn  &  Co. 

Seven  Little  Sisters.     Ginn  &  Co. 

Heart  of  Oak,  No.  II.    D.  C.  Heath  &  Co. 

Fairy  Stories  and  Fables.     American  Book  Co. 

Child  Life,  Third  Reader.     The  Macmillan  Co. 

Grimm's  German  Household  Tales.     Houghton,  Mifflin,  &  Co. 

Fables* (published  as  leaflets).     C.  M.  Parker,  Taylorville,  111. 

Around  the  World,  Book  II.     The  Morse  Co. 

Graded  Classics,  No.  III.     B.  F.  Johnson  Publishing  Co. 

Graded  Literature,  No.  III.     Maynard,  Merrill,  &  Co. 

Grimm's  Fairy  Tales.     Educational  Publishing  Co. 


LIST  OF   BOOKS  FOR   PRIMARY   GRADES 

Grimm's  Fairy  Tales  (Wiltse).    Ginn  &  Co. 

Nature  Myths  and  Stories  for  Little  Ones  (Cooke).    A.  Flanagan 

&Co. 
Fairy  Tales  in  Verse  and  Prose  (Rolfe).    American  Book  Co. 

THIRD  GRADE  — SECOND   SERIES 

Arabian  Nights.     Houghton,  Mifflin,  &  Co. 

Hans  Andersen's  Stories.     Houghton,  Mifflin,  &  Co. 

Fairy  Tales  in  Verse  and  Prose  (Rolfe) .     Harper  &  Bros. 

Stories  Mother  Nature  Told  Her  Children.     Ginn  &  Co. 

Andersen's  Fairy  Tales,  Part  II.    Ginn  &  Co. 

Open  Sesame,  Part  I.     Ginn  &  Co. 

Judd's  Classic  Myths. 

Grimm's  Fairy  Tales,  Part  II.     Ginn  &  Co. 

The  Eugene  Field  Book  (Burt).     Scribner's  Sons. 

A  Child's  Garden  of  Verses.     Rand,  McNally,  &  Co. 

Little  Lame  Prince  (Craik).     Maynard,  Merrill,  &  Co. 

Prose  and  Verse  for  Children  (Pyle) .    American  Book  Co. 

Book  of  Tales.    American  Book  Co. 


THIRD  GRADE  — FOR  TEACHERS 

Stories  from  the  History  of  Rome.     The  Macmillan  Co. 

Friends  and  Helpers  (Eddy) .     Ginn  &  Co. 

Little  Lucy's  Wonderful  Globe  (Yonge).     The  Macmillan  Co. 

Robinson  Crusoe.     Houghton,  Mifflin,  &  Co. 

Arabian  Nights,  Aladdin,  etc.     Maynard,  Merrill,  &  Co. 

Bird's  Christmas  Carol  (Wiggin).     Houghton,  Mifflin,  &  Co. 

Uncle  Remus  (Harris).     D.  Appleton  &  Co. 

Fifty  Famous  Stories  Retold  (Baldwin).     American  Book  Co. 

Four  Great  Americans  (Baldwin).    Werner  School  Book  Co. 

Stories  of  Great  Americans  for  Little  Americans  (Eggleston). 

American  Book  Co. 

The  Story  of  Lincoln  (Cavens).     Public  School  Publishing  Co. 
Among  the  Farmyard  People  (Pierson).     E.  P.  Dutton  &  Co. 


198          SPECIAL    METHOD   IN   PRIMARY   READING 

The  Howells  Story  Book  (Burt).     Scribner's  Sons. 

The  Jungle  Book  (Kipling) .     Century  Co.,  New  York. 

Old  Norse  Stories  (Bradish).    American  Book  Co. 

Little  Brothers  of  the  Air  (Miller).     Houghton,  Mifflin,  &  Co. 

Hans  Brinker  (Mary  Mapes  Dodge).     Century  Co. 

Black  Beauty.     University  Publishing  Co. 

Tanglewood  Tales  (Hawthorne).     Houghton,  Mifflin,  &  Co. 

Wonder  Book  (Hawthorne).     Houghton,  Mifflin,  &  Co. 

The  Story  of  the  Wagner  Opera.     Scribner's  Sons. 

Thoughts  on  Education  (Locke) .     The  Macmillan  Co. 

The  Education  of  Man  (Froebel) .     D.  Appleton  &  Co. 

Childhood  in  Literature  and  Art  (Scudder).    Houghton,  Mifflin, 

&Co. 

Waymarks  for  Teachers  (Arnold).     Silver,  Burdett,  &  Co. 
Hailman's  History  of  Pedagogy.    American  Book  Co. 


SERIES  OF  SELECT   READERS   FOR  THE 
GRADES 

Child  Life.    The  Macmillan  Co. 
Around  the  World.    The  Morse  Co. 
Baldwin's  Readers.    American  Book  Co. 
Graded  Classics.     B.  F.  Johnson  Publishing  Co. 
Graded  Literature.     Maynard,  Merrill,  &  Co. 
Stepping  Stones  to  Literature.     Silver,  Burdett,  &  Co. 
Lights  to  Literature.    Rand,  McNally,  &  Co. 
The  Heart  of  Oak  Series.    D.  C.  Heath  &  Co. 
Choice  Literature.    Butler,  Sheldon,  &  Co. 


METHODS  IN  ELEMENTARY  EDUCATION 

A  Series  of  Educational  Books  in  Two  Groups  covering  the  General 

Principles  of  Method  and  Its  Special  Applications  to  the 

Common  School 

BY 

CHARLES  A.  McMURRY,  PhJX 
Northern  Illinois  State  Normal  School,  DeKalb,  Illinois 

WITH 

F.  M.  McMURRY 

AS  JOINT  AUTHOR  FOR  METHOD   OF  RECITATION 

I.  BOOKS  OF  GENERAL  METHOD  IN   EDUCATION 

The  three  books  in  this  group  deal  with  the  fundamental,  con- 
prehensive  principles  of  Education  for  the  school  as  a  whole, 
and  include  both  instruction  and  management. 

II.  BOOKS  OF  SPECIAL  METHOD    IN    COMMON    SCHOOL 

STUDIES.  Each  school  study  is  treated  in  a  separate  book, 
and  the  selection  and  arrangement  of  material,  and  the  method 
of  instruction  appropriate  to  that  study  throughout  its  course, 
are  fully  discussed.  Illustrative  lessons  and  extensive  lists  of 
books  of  special  value  as  helps  to  teachers  and  schools  are 
included. 


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I 


GENERAL  METHOD  IN  EDUCATION 
THE   ELEMENTS  OF  GENERAL  METHOD 

BASED   ON  THE  IDEAS  OF  HERBART 
By  CHARLES  A.  McMURRY 

New  edition,  revised  and  enlarged.       Cloth.    12mo.    331  pp. 
9O  cents  net,  postage  1O  cents 

This  volume  discusses  fully  the  controlling  principles  of  our  progres- 
sive modern  education,  such  as  The  Aim  of  Education ;  The  Materials 
and  Sources  of  Moral  Training ;  The  Relative  Value  of  Studies  in  the 
School  Course ;  The  Nature  and  Value  of  Interest  as  a  Vital  Element 
in  Instruction ;  The  Correlation  of  Studies ;  Inductive  and  Deductive 
Processes  as  Fundamental  to  All  Thinking ;  Apperception,  its  Close 
and  Constant  Application  to  the  Process  of  Learning ;  The  Will,  its 
Training  and  Function  and  its  Close  Relation  to  Other  Forms  of 
Mental  Action. 

The  book  closes  with  an  account  of  Herbart  and  his  disciples  in 
Germany,  and  a  summary  of  their  pronounced  ideas  and  influence 
upon  education. 

THE  METHOD  OF  THE   RECITATION 

New  edition,  revised  and  enlarged 

By  CHARLES  A.  McMURRY  and  FRANK  M.  McMURRY 

Cloth.    12mo.    339  pp.  9O  cents  net,  postage  1O  cents 

This  book,  as  a  whole,  is  designed  to  simplify,  organize,  and  illustrate 
the  chief  principles  of  class-room  method  in  elementary  schools.  A  few 
important  fundamental  principles  are  carefully  worked  out  as  a  basis. 
The  essential  steps,  in  the  acquisition  of  knowledge  in  all  studies,  are 
worked  out  and  applied  to  different  branches.  The  developing  method 
of  instruction  so  much  used  in  the  oral  treatment  of  lessons  is  worked 
out,  and  the  method  of  careful  and  suitable  questioning  discussed. 

Two  chapters  are  given,  consisting  of  Illustrative  Lessons  selected 
from  the  different  studies  and  worked  out  in  full,  as  examples  of  a  right 
method.  In  these  examples,  and  also  in  the  discussions,  the  applica- 
tion of  the  principles  of  apperception,  interest,  induction,  and  deduc- 
tion to  class-room  work  are  shown.  The  peculiar  application  of  these 
various  principles  to  different  studies  is  carefully  discussed. 


SCHOOL  AND  CLASS  MANAGEMENT  — In  Preparation 

2 


SPECIAL  METHOD  IN  COMMON  SCHOOL  STUDIES 

SPECIAL  flETHOD   IN  THE   READING  OF  COM- 
PLETE  ENGLISH    CLASSICS    IN  THE 
COMMON   SCHOOLS 

By  CHARLES  A.  McMURRY 
Cloth.    12mo.    254  pp.    75  cents,  postage  9  cents 

This  discusses  in  a  comprehensive  way  the  regular  reading  lessons, 
the  choice  of  stories,  poems,  and  longer  masterpieces,  adapted  to  the 
needs  of  the  various  grades  from  the  fourth  to  the  eighth  school  year 
inclusive ;  the  value  for  school  use  of  the  best  literature,  including 
complete  masterpieces,  both  long  and  short ;  method  in  reading ;  and 
principles  of  class-room  work.  A  descriptive  list  of  more  than  four 
hundred  books  forms  the  last  chapter.  The  list  has  been  carefully 
made,  and  is  designed  to  assist  teachers  and  superintendents  in  select- 
ing suitable  reading  material  for  the  successive  grades. 


SPECIAL  flETHOD  IN  PRIflARY  READING  AND 
ORAL  WORK   IN   STORY  TELLING 

By  CHARLES  A.  McMURRY 
Cloth.     12mo.     75  cents  net,  postage  8  cents 

The  relation  of  oral  story  work  to  early  exercises  in  primary  reading 
is  explained  at  length.  A  full  discussion  of  oral  methods  in  primary 
grades  and  a  detailed  account  of  primary  exercises  in  reading  are  given. 
The  use  of  games  for  incidental  reading  is  also  fully  discussed  and 
illustrated. 

SPECIAL  METHOD  IN  HISTORY 

By  CHARLES  A.  McMURRY 

NEW  EDITION  IN  PREPARATION 

This  book  contains  a  course  of  study  in  history  with  a  full  discus- 
sion of  methods  of  treating  topics.  The  value,  selection,  and  arrange- 
ment of  historical  materials  for  each  grade  are  discussed,  and  illustrative 
lessons  given.  The  relation  of  history  to  geography,  literature,  and 
other  studies  is  treated,  and  lists  of  books  suitable  for  each  year  are 
supplied. 

3 


SPECIAL  METHOD   IN   GEOGRAPHY 

By  CHARLES  A.  McMURRY 
NEW  EDITION  IN  PREPARATION 

The  entire  course  of  study  is  laid  out  after  a  careful  selection  of 
topics.  Methods  of  class  instruction  are  fully  discussed,  and  illustra- 
tions are  given  of  geograpical  topics  treated  in  detail.  The  close 
relation  of  geography  to  other  studies  is  shown,  and  the  best  lists  of 
books  supplied. 


SPECIAL  flETHOD   IN  NATURAL  SCIENCE 

By  CHARLES  A.  McMURRY 
NEW  EDITION  IN  PREPARATION 

The  history  of  science  teaching  in  elementary  schools  is  given.  The 
basis  for  selecting  the  topics  for  a  course  of  study,  and  the  method  of 
class  instruction  suitable  to  object  study,  experimentation,  etc.,  are  fully 
discussed.  The  book  contains,  also,  a  carefully  selected  list  of  the 
best  books  for  the  use  of  teachers  and  pupils. 


A  COURSE  OF  STUDY  FOR  THE  EIGHT  GRADES 
OF  THE  COMMON  SCHOOL 

IN  PREPARATION 


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too  Boylston  St    178-388  Wabash  Are.    Empire  Build  'g    319  325  Santomt  St 

4 


